Bruins cut ties with prospect Miller amid criticism
Less than three days after signing Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract, the Boston Bruins announced Sunday they were cutting ties with the controversial prospect.
The decision to sign the 20-year-old defenseman drew intense criticism from the moment the Bruins announced it Friday. Miller was previously a fourth-round draft pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020. Shortly after he was drafted, a report by the Arizona Republic detailed how Miller and another middle school classmate were convicted in juvenile court in 2016 of racially abusing and bullying Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is Black. In the report, Meyer-Crothers’ mother said Miller started abusing her son in second grade while also using repeated racial epithets.
Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement Sunday night that the decision to sign Miller “was made after careful consideration of the facts as we were aware of them.” Neely said the team believed Miller’s abuse of Meyer-Crothers was “an isolated incident” and that Miller “had taken meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing personal development.”
Neely said that “based on new information,” the franchise decided to rescind the contract given to Miller.
Neely also said the Bruins would be reevaluating their internal vetting process.
“To Isaiah and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard,” Neely said. “We apologize for the deep hurt and impact we have caused.”
Miller had his draft rights relinquished by the Coyotes less than a month after he was selected. He also was released from his scholarship at the University of North Dakota, where he was enrolled as a freshman.
He sat out the 2020-21 season but began playing again in 2021-22 with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He finished tied for the league lead in goals with 39 and had 83 points — both single-season records for a defenseman — in 60 games. He was named the USHL’s Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year.
The Bruins initially planned to have Miller play for their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. On Saturday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league was not consulted by the Bruins about the signing and that Miller was “not eligible at this point to come into the NHL.” Bettman said the league ultimately would have to clear Miller to play while also saying he would “need to see a whole bunch of things” going forward.
Bruins forward Nick Foligno said Saturday that it was “a tough thing” for the team to learn the organization had signed Miller.
“I’m not going lie to you,” Foligno said. “I don’t think any guy was too happy because of how proud we are to say that this is a group that cares a lot about ourselves and how we carry ourselves and how we treat people.”
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said the culture the team has built goes against the type of behavior Miller displayed. He said what Miller did was “unacceptable, and we don’t stand by that.”
The Baltimore Orioles are “very, very hopeful” that star shortstop Gunnar Henderson (intercostal strain) will be ready for Opening Day.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Wednesday that Henderson suffered a mild strain on his right side.
“I’m very, very hopeful. But we’re going to not push a strain there, and we want to make sure that he gets it taken care of. It’s one of those sensitive areas where we don’t want anything to reoccur,” Hyde said.
Henderson departed last Thursday’s 11-8 spring training victory over the Toronto Blue Jays after the first inning with what the team termed “lower right side discomfort.” Henderson made a leaping catch in the top of the first inning and apparently felt soreness after hitting the ground.
Henderson is batting .167 in six plate appearances so far this spring.
The 2023 American League Rookie of the Year earned his first All-Star nod in 2024 batting .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs and 92 RBIs. He also stole 21 bases. He finished fourth in MVP balloting.
Henderson dealt with a left oblique injury during spring training in 2024 but recovered in time for the start of the regular season.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – New Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker was scratched from the lineup for a spring training game Wednesday because of soreness in his left oblique.
Walker missed more than a month last season with Arizona because of a strained left oblique muscle. He joined the Astros on a $60 million, three-year contract during the offseason.
In his first four spring training games for Houston, Walker was 4 for 8 with three doubles. He also had two walks.
Adding a first baseman over the offseason was a priority for the Astros after struggling Jose Abreu was released less than halfway through a $58.5 million, three-year contract.
Walker, who turns 34 on March 28, hit .251 with 26 home runs and 84 RBIs in 130 games for the Diamondbacks last season. He won his third consecutive Gold Glove at first base.
In 832 big league games, Walker has hit .250 with 147 homers. All but 13 of those games came with Arizona over the past eight seasons, after his MLB debut with Baltimore in 2014 and 2015.
Walker had two stints on the injured list because of right oblique issues in 2021. He played 160 games in 2022 and 157 in 2023, hitting 69 homers and driving in 197 runs combined over those two seasons.
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The Hall of Fame made some small adjustments to its veterans committee system to limit people with relatively little support from repeatedly remaining on future ballots, a decision that could make it harder to gain entry to Cooperstown for steroids-tainted stars such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Any candidate on the eight-person ballot who receives fewer than five votes from the 16-member panel will not be eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle, the hall said Wednesday. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.
Bonds, Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and Albert Belle each received fewer than four votes in December 2022, when Fred McGriff was a unanimous pick. Bonds and Clemens were on a hall ballot for the first time since their 10th and final appearances on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. The rules change could limit reappraisals of their candidacies.
In addition, the historical overview committee appointed by the BBWAA that selects the ballot candidates must also be approved by the hall’s board of directors. The hall said the decisions were made by its board during a Feb. 26 meeting in Orlando, Florida.
In 2022, the hall restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on, as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee meets every three years: contemporary players from 1980 on will be considered this December; managers, executives and umpires from 1980 on in December 2026; and pre-1980 candidates in December 2027.
Dave Parker and Dick Allen were elected last December and manager Jim Leyland in December 2023.
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