The Chicago Cubs are shutting down right-hander Shelby Miller for the remainder of the 2026 season, manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday, ending a long-shot bid for the veteran reliever to join the club’s bullpen before the postseason.
Miller had been working his way back from a second Tommy John surgery last October while with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs signed him in February to a two-year, $2.5 million contract that included a 2028 club option, expecting him to spend this year rehabbing and targeting a 2027 return.
The 35-year-old advanced far enough that he reached Triple-A Iowa and entered the conversation for a possible September promotion. That possibility is now closed.
“Shelby did an incredible job getting back,” Counsell said. “He’s had a successful month of September in terms of being healthy. At this point, the risk outweighs what reward there would be from keeping him going and pushing him to pitch in this environment. It’s just a risk that we agreed together not to take.”
Miller made 13 minor league appearances on a rehab assignment that began Aug. 9, splitting time between Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Iowa. He threw 9 2/3 innings, struck out 15 and walked nine. His fastball averaged nearly 96 mph, but command remained inconsistent and he needed extra rest after pitching on consecutive days.
Counsell said Miller suffered no setbacks. The decision was about caution after two elbow reconstructions, the first in 2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Miller is only about 11 months removed from the most recent procedure.
“We’ve got a healthy player,” Counsell said. “We’ve got a player ready for spring training going into next season. We’re excited about that.”
The Cubs entered Tuesday at 84-68, second in the National League Central and 10 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. They remain in the wild-card race with a little more than a week left in the regular season.
Chicago’s bullpen has been uneven all year. The team’s overall ERA sat at 4.19 through 152 games. Relievers such as Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey and Hoby Milner, signed to stabilize late innings, have not delivered as hoped. Homegrown options have also been limited by injuries and inconsistency.
Miller was never projected as the primary fix. Last season he posted a 1.98 ERA and 10 saves with Arizona before a midseason trade to Milwaukee, where he finished with a 2.74 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 46 innings across both clubs. The late-season injury cut that run short.
A former first-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009, Miller finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2013 and made the All-Star team as a starter with the Atlanta Braves in 2015. After his first Tommy John surgery, he reinvented himself as a reliever and produced a 1.71 ERA in 36 appearances for the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers.
He has pitched for 10 major league organizations. Career totals stand at 51-69 with a 4.04 ERA, 789 strikeouts and 13 saves in 921 2/3 innings.
The Cubs will now look to other rehabbing arms, including left-hander Justin Steele, as they try to hold a playoff position. Miller is expected to have a normal offseason and report healthy for spring training in 2027, when he will be 36.
For a pitcher who has spent much of the past decade navigating injuries and roster moves, the next chapter is delayed but intact. The Cubs are betting that patience now will produce a useful bullpen piece next summer.
