Milwaukee Brewers: Who will make room for Wade Miley?

Wade Miley is officially finished with his minor league rehabilitation. He will make his starting debut with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds.

After looking like he was a lock in the starting rotation, Wade Miley suffered a groin injury. The Milwaukee Brewers assigned him to rehab with the Biloxi Shuckers, and the lefty excelled.

Biloxi Numbers

In 11 2/3 innings with the Shuckers, Miley posted a K/9 rate of 10.80 and a BB/9 rate of 1.54.

In the tweet below, Tom Haudricourt of the MIlwaukee Journal Sentinel recounts Miley’s phenomenal showing in his final rehab appearance.

Milwaukee’s Options

They have chosen to move struggling starter, Brent Suter, to the bullpen. They now have a decision to make regarding their relief staff. The three relievers who have the best chance of being sent away are Taylor Williams, Brandon Woodruff, and Oliver Drake.

Taylor Williams makes sense because he is using his first option this year. Last year, he was a September call-up. But, in his 8.1 innings of work so far, he has pitched well. Walks are a problem, but he also boasts a K/9 of 16.2. His ERA sits at 2.16, which is pretty good.

Brandon Woodruff also has pitched about 8 innings in the Major League this season. His haven’t all been in relief, though. He started one game for the Crew, which is why his ERA sits at 4.50, as it did not go well for him.

Their last option as to who to part ways with is Oliver Drake. Most fans have some sort of gripe with Drake. The most recent reason why is because he ended the bullpen’s 32 inning streak without giving up an earned run. Drake is out of minor league options, which means the Milwaukee Brewers would potentially have to part ways with him.

In this article, fellow contributor Trevor Hooth made a case for keeping Drake in the big leagues. But, in his 12 2/3 innings of work, he has an ERA of 6.39. His K/9 rate sits at 10.66, which is good. However, his BB/9 rate is 5.68, which isn’t quite as great.

The Best Scenario

The best case scenario is kind of up in the air. The Milwaukee Brewers will likely not make an announcement until Tuesday or Wednesday, so they have a few more days to make a decision.

Fans would like to see Drake sent down on waivers, but that means another team may choose to sign him. With his performance so far this season, it isn’t likely that another team would choose to pick him up.

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Most likely what will happen is Woodruff will go back down to Colorado Springs. It’s only putting off the inevitable because when Corey Knebel or Boone Logan return, Drake will probably be the odd man out.