Dodgers News: Caleb Ferguson Appreciates What Shelby Miller Brings to Bullpen

A wealth of knowledge from a guy that has gone through the wringer in Major League Baseball.

The Dodger bullpen has been a source of frustration for the team and for fans over the first month of the season with a 5.05 reliever ERA in 27 games so far. But, there a few standouts that have been difference makers day in and day.

Among them, left-hander Caleb Ferguson and veteran right-hander Shelby Miller. The tandem has a combined 1.61 ERA in 22 appearances (4 ER, 22.1 IP), helping ease the anxiety of seeing the bullpen gates open.

Ferguson recently talked to AM570 LA Sports Radio about the addition of Miller to the bullpen, appreciating the experience the 11-year big leaguer brings to the staff.

"He's great. He's good to have around. He's good to bounce ideas off of, he's been around... he's done a little bit of everything so, he's a good guy to have down there where you can bounce a lot of questions off of him."

When the Dodgers signed Miller in the offseason, it was a bit of a headscratcher. He was coming off a season where he posted a 6.43 ERA in 4 games with the Giants and hadn't posted an ERA under 4 since 2015. But, as the Dodgers do so well, the staff tweaked his pitch mix and cleaned up the mechanics and have created this year's reclamation star.

It's still early, but so far so good with Shelby Miller.

Where Has Shelby Miller Been?

The former All-Star starter has struggled with consistency since 2016. He ran into injury woes, including 2017 Tommy John surgery and has bounced around the league since. 

Before injuring himself, he was looked at as one of the bright up and coming starting pitchers in baseball. He had posted a 3.22 ERA over his first 102 games (96 starts) in career and looked like he would be a rotation anchor for the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the Cards traded Miller to the Atlanta Braves for, you guessed it, Jason Heyward. The Braves flipped Shelby to the Arizona Diamondbacks one offseason later for a return that netted them top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson who eventually helped lead the Braves to a World Series championship in 2021.

After leaving the Dbacks, Miller pitched for the Rangers, Cubs, Pirates, and Giants before signing a 1 year, $1.5 million deal with the Dodgers this past winter.