Former Cardinals phenom set to suit up for yet another division rival

In the early 2010s, one of the brightest pitchers in the sport was stepping on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals, but now Shelby Miller is going to toe the rubber for yet another division rival of the team that drafted and developed him.

The Chicago Cubs have brought in free-agent reliever Shelby Miller for the second time since 2021, this time on what will reportedly be a multi-year major-league deal, as first reported by FanSided's MLB Insider Robert Murray.

Miller, who was a first-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2009 and came up as one of the best young starters in the sport, has reinvented himself as a reliever in recent years, and most recently spent 2025 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers. While Miller did throw two innings at the Major League level for the Cubs in 2021, this should be a more significant stint this time, and this is his fourth NL Central team he's suited up for alongside the Cardinals, Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Chicago Cubs have signed former Cardinals phenom Shelby Miller

When Miller debuted for the Cardinals in 2012, he was the face of what was the best pitching pipeline in the game at that time. The Cardinals had the best farm system in all of baseball, consistently pumped out really good young arms, and were making it to the NLCS or World Series year in and year out.

Miller was excellent in his 6 games of work in 2012, but broke out in a huge way in 2013, going 15-9 with a 3.06 ERA in 31 starts as a rookie for the National League pennant-winning Cardinals. Miller, alongside young arms like Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez, Lance Lynn, and more, was supposed to be one of the new anchors of the Cardinals' rotation for years to come.

But after the tragic passing of outfielder Oscar Taveras in October 2014, the Cardinals quickly pivoted to find a new star outfielder, and that meant shipping Miller to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Jason Heyward. Miller was great for Atlanta in 2015, posting a 3.02 ERA in 205.1 innings of work, and then was flipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for number one overall selection, Dansby Swanson.

A freak injury with the Diamondbacks totally derailed his promising career as a starter, but Miller has reestablished himself as a quality big league reliever since then.

Miller will miss the 2026 season due to his offseason UCL surgery, but he'll have the opportunity to rehab with the Cubs before being a part of their bullpen mix in 202