Former Yankees’ reliever Andrew Miller slams MLB’s COVID-19 restart plan

New York Yankees, Andrew Miller
Sep 10, 2018; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller (24) at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Miller, before fetching prospects Clint Frazier, Ben Heller, J. P. Feyereisen and Justus Sheffield in 2016, was a top-flight reliever for the New York Yankees. He was perhaps the top left-handed in baseball at the time, and the return was on par of what should be expected.

The reliever, who is now considered to be on a normal routine by his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, after not getting a feel of his pitches over the spring, wasn’t happy after he saw the owners’ proposal to further cut player salaries in a shortened 2020 season, according to NJ.com.

“I saw the proposal,” Miller, the Cardinals’ players union representative, told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “We want to play. It’s what we love to do. We also have principles and a responsibility to protect the rights of players. If this was truly about getting the game to the fans in 2020, we would have no issues finding that common ground.

“We will continue to work towards that, but I’m disappointed where they have started the discussion,” Miller said.

Yankees’ star Gerrit Cole would take massive pay cut

The MLB owners plan to drastically cut the game’s richest and highest paid players. Take the example of the New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole: he is supposed to make $36 million this season, and would make between $5 and $6 million.

Players who make near the league minimum or a little bit more than that wouldn’t see drastic changes in their payday.

The proposal came after the players rebuffed the owners’ attempt to install a 50-50 revenue split. The two sides had agreed to fully prorated salaries back in March.

“We made a proposal to the union that is completely consistent with the economic realities facing our sport,” MLB said in a statement, according to the report. “We look forward to a responsive proposal from the MLBPA.”

Miller performed while he was on the Yankees for a season and a half. He had a 1.77 ERA and 45 saves in 104 games.