According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the Red Sox have acquired Andrew Miller from the Marlins for Dustin Richardson.
Miller, a former first-round pick of the Tigers in 2005, has yet to put things together on the major league level, posting a 5.84 ERA in 79 big league appearances (54 starts), averaging 7.3 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The 25-year-old left-hander was hammered to the tune of an 8.54 ERA in nine games (seven starts) with the Marlins this season and wasn’t much better in the minor leagues, posting a 5.35 ERA in 21 starts between High-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville.
Miller, of course, was a key piece of the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers in December of 2007. Florida’s haul, including Miller and Cameron Maybin, among others, hasn’t worked out very well thus far. It would have been pretty pricey to keep Miller around -- he made just a shade under $1.8 million this past season -- so the left-hander was probably going to be placed on waivers eventually. Similar to Boston’s acquisition of Jeremy Hermida last winter, they didn’t want to take the chance that somebody else could end up with him.
As for the Marlins’ part of this deal, Richardson posted a 4.15 ERA and a mediocre 14/12 K/BB ratio in 13 innings over 26 appearances with the Red Sox this past season. The left-hander, who turns 27 in January, has averaged 10.0 K/9 during his time in the minors, including 11.5 K/9 with Triple-A Pawtucket this season and 11.4 K/9 between the PawSox and Double-A Portland in 2009, but he’ll need to improve his command in order to become a trusted option in the major leagues.
