Cleveland Indians running away with Mike Clevinger trade

Owen Miller

The latest member of the deal to debut in the major leagues, Owen Miller debuted with the Cleveland Indians on Sunday after lighting it up in Columbus to start the 2021 season. While Miller’s debut wasn’t exactly one to remember, his high level of play in Triple-A makes him an intriguing player for the Tribe and the reason the front office made space for him on the 40-man roster to get him called up.

One position that Cleveland has struggled to find an answer for early in the season has been the shortstop spot. While Miller has been mainly a second baseman, he could be asked to move over to short in Cleveland with Cesar Hernandez entrenched at second. In his debut, Miller took the role of designated hitter following the move of placing Franmil Reyes on the IL. Unfortunately, he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Luckily, the potential for Miller is still there. He’s currently listed by MLB.com as the club’s No. 16 prospect in the organization. He also was able to put together a slash line of .406/.457/.609 over 16 games with the Columbus Clippers to begin the season.

The first game wasn’t what he hoped for, but there’s a whole career ahead of Miller. If he can start to catch on in Cleveland and hit the way he did for Columbus, he could be the hidden gem of the Clevinger trade.