Andrew Miller agrees to terms with Yankees

The Orioles never were involved in serious talks to keep left-hander Andrew Miller, refusing to get in a bidding war with 22 other teams.

Miller will have plenty of opportunities to make them regret the decision.

Miller is staying in the American League East after agreeing to a four-year, $36 million deal with the Yankees, who just confirmed it on Twitter.

Early speculation had Miller landing a deal in the $40-$48 million range. He settled for less, but still is going to be paid handsomely in whatever role he inherits with the Yankees.

Consider that Miller's $36 million salary doubles Jeremy Affeldt's record for a setup man.

Miller may get his first shot at closing with David Robertson a free agent. How much do the Yankees want to spend on the back end of their bullpen?

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette met with Miller's agent last month at the general managers' meetings in Phoenix, but talks never progressed due to the reliever's insistence on scoring a four-year deal.

"Andrew Miller is a setup reliever," Duquette said. "I don't want to diminish his value. I'm glad we had Andrew Miller. He did a great job for us and we love him.

"There were 14 teams trying to trade for him," Duquette said last night. "We paid a premium by giving them a good pitcher (Eduardo Rodriguez). We hated to do it, but it was required. If (Miller) didn't go with us, he would have gone to the Tigers and would have been pitching against us in the playoffs. Anyway, he was the difference in that series.

"Now he's a free agent and there's 22 clubs trying to sign him other than the Orioles. There's only one Andrew Miller out there. He's only going to sign with one club and I'm not sure we can support paying him the kind of money in that job that makes sense for our ballclub and this city. I'm not sure a relief pitcher has that kind of economic value for this ballclub in this market.

"If Andrew Miller signs with another club, and I understand there's three major market teams trying to sign him, it will be because he got paid more money and he may have more value in that market than he has in this market."

Duquette made left-handed relief a priority in the offseason due to Miller's pending departure.

Miller went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 23 games with the Orioles, allowing three runs and eight hits, walking four and striking out 34 over 20 innings. He held right-handers to a .145 average this season and left-handers to a .163 average.

Miller is joining his third AL East team this year.

The top three free agent Orioles came off the market this week. Nelson Cruz agreed to terms with the Mariners on Monday and Nick Markakis did the same with the Braves on Wednesday.