Wade Miley Declines Mutual Option With Milwaukee Brewers, Enters Free Agency

Starting pitcher Wade Miley has declined his $10 million mutual option with the Milwaukee Brewers, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy first reported Friday night.

Miley will receive a $1 million buyout as part of the move, which makes him a free agent. Per McCalvy, Miley is open to returning to the Brewers, but he wanted to hit the open market before signing a new deal.

The Brewers paid Miley $3.5 million in guaranteed money this past season, plus another $500K for hitting his innings pitched incentive.

The journeyman and former All-Star went 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.139 WHIP in 23 starts this season. Miley is 23-13 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.243 WHIP with three different teams over the past three years.

For his career, Miley is 108-98 with a 4.06 ERA, 1.359 WHIP, 1,359 strikeouts and an 18.1 WAR. His only accolades came when he was an All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year runner up with the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2012, but he has strung together reliable campaigns with the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs since then.

Miley turns 37 years old this month.

According to Spotrac, the calculated market value of Miley's next contract is roughly one year, $8 million, but he likely would not have passed up $10 million if he and his representation did not believe they could get either more years or a higher average annual salary.

MLB free agency technically began Thursday, but players are only allowed to negotiate and re-sign with their current clubs until Monday.

The Brewers re-signed starting pitcher Colin Rea on Friday to shore up a rotation that could be going through further changes this offseason. Brandon Woodruff is expected to miss all of 2024 after undergoing shoulder surgery, Eric Lauer is set to join Miley in free agency and Corbin Burnes is heading into his final year of arbitration.