Bradley Aaron Mills (born March 5, 1985) is a former American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

and current coach. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

, and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

Playing career

Amateur career

Mills graduated from Mountain View High School in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...

, and pitched collegiately for the

University of Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college fo ...

Toronto Blue Jays

Mills was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round (660th overall) in the 2006 amateur draft. Mills, however, chose not to sign with the Jays and instead returned to school for his senior year to complete his degree in civil engineering. After completing his senior season at Arizona, Mills would once again be selected by the Blue Jays, this time in the fourth round (145th overall) of the 2007 amateur entry draft. He began his professional career later in 2007 with short-season Class A Auburn, posting a 2–0 won-lost record in 18 innings, striking out 21 with an ERA of 2.00. In 2008, Mills achieved the best record by a pitcher in the entire Blue Jays' minor league organization. Splitting his season with three teams (A Class Lansing, Advanced A Dunedin, and AA New Hampshire), Mills was 13–5 in 27 games (all starts), with 159 strikeouts over 147.1 innings pitched, with an ERA of 1.95. He was chosen a Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star at Lansing. Advancing to AAA Las Vegas 51s for 2009, Mills at the time of his promotion was leading the team in innings pitched with 76.1, and had a 1–8 record, a 4.48 ERA, and 65 strikeouts. The Toronto Blue Jays had suffered a string of injuries to many of their pitchers from early 2009 onwards, leading to several promotions from within their minor-league system. On June 17, Mills' contract was purchased by the Blue Jays. On June 18, 2009, he made his major league debut by taking over

Casey Janssen Robert Casey Janssen (born September 17, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for two seasons in various levels of the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league organization before his debut in 2006 as a starting pitcher ...

's scheduled start on the road against the

2008 World Series The 2008 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 season. The 104th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Ame ...

champion

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, giving up four earned runs in innings.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On December 3, 2011, he was traded to the

for catcher

Jeff Mathis Jeffrey Stephen Mathis (born March 31, 1983) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondba ...

. He made his only appearance for the Angels on July 8 and earned his 3rd career win, pitching five scoreless innings, with no walks and six strikeouts, and three hits allowed.

Texas Rangers

On March 24, 2013, Mills was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers. Mills was assigned to the Rangers' Triple-A team, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

(PCL), after clearing waivers.

Orix Buffaloes

Mills signed with the

on July 18, 2013.

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 9, 2014, Mills signed a minor-league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. Mills was assigned to the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music indus ...

of the PCL, where in 12 starts, he was 4-2 with a 1.56 ERA.

Oakland Athletics

On June 17, 2014, Mills was traded to the

for cash considerations, which was later revealed to be $1. He had an opt-out clause in his contract with the Brewers that allowed Mills to leave the organization for zero compensation if another team put him on their active roster. Mills joined the Athletics starting rotation immediately and made his first start for the A's on June 20 against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. On June 25 against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

, Mills picked up his first win as an Oakland Athletic. He was designated for assignment on July 7, after making 3 starts for Oakland and posting a 1–1 record with a 4.41 earned run average.

Second stint with Toronto Blue Jays

On July 17, 2014, Mills was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. After allowing 8 runs in 2 innings pitched during a 14–1 loss to the

, Mills was designated for assignment on July 22. He cleared waivers on July 25, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen F ...

. On August 10, Mills was recalled from Triple-A. After pitching in relief in Seattle on August 11, he was designated for assignment on August 12, and assigned outright to Buffalo on August 14. Altogether, Mills recorded a 27.00 ERA with 5 strikeouts in 4 innings for the Blue Jays in 2014. He elected free agency after the season ended.

Second stint with Oakland Athletics

On October 27, 2014, Mills signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics. He was called up from the Triple-A

on August 14, 2015 to start against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Mills was designated for assignment on August 15, and assigned outright to Nashville on August 17. He elected to become a free agent following the season.

Seattle Mariners

On December 17, 2015, Mills signed a minor league deal with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

. He was released on September 22, 2018.

Coaching career

In December, 2019, the Chicago Cubs hired Mills as a Run Prevention Coordinator.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Brad 1985 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona Wildcats baseball players Auburn Doubledays players Baseball coaches from Arizona Baseball players from Arizona Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players Lansing Lugnuts players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Oakland Athletics players Orix Buffaloes players Round Rock Express players Salt Lake Bees players Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Tacoma Rainiers players Toronto Blue Jays players