The 38-year-old who has pitched in 317 big league games has never been called patient. On the mound, he’s one of the quickest-working pitchers of the last decade. In the clubhouse, he’s always buzzing around and striking up conversations with everyone around him.
His rehab process has forced him to be more patient than he has ever been.
It’s very difficult for a 14-year veteran to come back from an injury as serious as the one that Miley suffered last April.
As he works toward his return to the big leagues, he initially started a rehab assignment in Dayton on April 22. He pitched in two games with the Dragons, but the second one only lasted ⅔ innings as he tweaked his groin.
Miley recovered well from it, and he’ll continue his rehab assignment with the Dragons this Saturday. He’s chomping at the bit to return to the big leagues.
“I’ve had this mentality since I started throwing again,” Miley said earlier this year. “My big thing was keep the ball in my hand, throw a lot and I don’t want to lose my feel.”
Heading into the 2024 season, Miley earned a $7 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was in the later stages of his career, but he had a reputation as a pitcher who still could consistently get outs at a high level.
But Miley blew out his elbow during his first start of that season. Coincidentally, it was against the Reds. Miley initially tried to pitch through the severely injured elbow.
“I knew I hurt my elbow against the Reds,” Miley said. “I threw a backdoor cutter to Spencer Steer and I felt a pretty good sensation, but it didn’t hurt so I didn’t think anything of it. I don’t think I was pitching that great. We managed the (heck) out of it.”
He went on to make his next start against the San Diego Padres, but Miley then suffered some more bad luck as he took a comebacker off of his knee in that game. His elbow also wasn’t feeling good after that game, so he got an MRI and learned the significance of his elbow injury.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Retirement was on the table.
“There was a lot of uncertainty,” Miley said. “Once I sat down with Dr. (Timothy) Kremchek, he instilled a lot of confidence that I could make it back at this age. He’s a big part of helping me make that decision. His confidence that we could clean this thing up. That’s when I decided to have the surgery now and make the decision down the road. I didn’t have to make a decision on my career in a three day period.”
Following the surgery, Miley worked out six days a week. He did a lot of shoulder strength training in particular to build up the muscles around his elbow. He was keeping the dream of pitching in MLB again alive.
But first, he had to get a contract offer in the offseason that he was willing to sign.
“It was going to be (the Reds or the Brewers) unless a team knocked my socks off, which we didn’t think was going to happen,” Miley said.
Credit: Gene J. Puskar
Credit: Gene J. Puskar
He was comfortable with both of those franchises, having played in each place before the 2025 season. The Brewers didn’t show much interest, and Miley ended up signing a minor league deal with the Reds.
Miley has been well ahead of schedule, and he wowed Reds manager Terry Francona by being ready to throw bullpens early on in spring training.
The groin injury was a minor setback, and Miley has expressed confidence that he’ll be able to make an impact at the big league level in 2025.
“The best it’s been explained to me is you’ve got a new pair of shoes, and you’ve got to break it in,” Miley said. ‘That’s what my elbow is right now. I’ve got to break it in.”