Brad Miller, a former Texas Rangers infielder, signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday and was invited to Major League spring training, according to MLB.com. Miller became a free agent after the Rangers won their first World Series triumph, and he had to watch from the dugout when a hamstring injury placed him on the 60-day injured list in September. Miller signed a two-year contract with the Rangers prior to the 2022 season, and he was assigned to a utility role but never saw regular playing time.
Injuries and the rise of Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith as excellent utility players restricted Miller to 27 games and a.214 batting average in 2023. He played more in 2022, appearing in 81 games, although his batting average was only.212. Miller has not been a daily player since his 2021 season in Philadelphia, when he played 140 games and batted.227 while hitting 20 home runs and driving in 49. Since 2018, he’s primarily been a journeyman, moving from squad to team and serving as a utility player. That coincided with Tampa Bay sending him to Milwaukee in June 2018, and Miller later had surgery to repair a ruptured hip labrum.
He later played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cleveland Guardians, the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Phillies. He had his most success with the Rays, who he joined in 2016 after being dealt from Seattle. He set career highs of 30 home runs and 81 RBI.
