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Miller ready to redeem himself after 'huge mountain' of struggles

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

Shelby Miller won't let the cloud of last year's struggle hang over his head.

The Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander enters camp with a renewed sense of optimism after a disastrous first season with the club that gave up a major part of their future to acquire him.

"I'm just in a really happy place, away from the field, on the field," Miller told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

"Maybe it's just the way I go about everything, trying to be positive in every single aspect of life. Baseball's not perfect. I'm not perfect. I know bumps in the road are going to happen. Last year was obviously not just a bump, but a huge mountain. Right now, that's completely behind me. I'm not worried about any of that.

"I'm really ready for this year, ready to redeem myself so much."

After posting a 3.22 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over his first four seasons in the majors, Miller saw his performance take an extreme dip after joining the Diamondbacks. He went 3-12 with a 6.15 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over 101 innings and also spent time in Triple-A following a demotion.

Former Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart is the one who orchestrated the trade with the Atlanta Braves to land Miller and prospect Gabe Speier for shortstop Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte, and Aaron Blair in December 2015.

Stewart, who was fired in October, opened up about the trade over the weekend and while he believes Miller will turn his career around, he regrets making the deal.

"I should have stuck to my gut, although I think that Shelby Miller is going to be everything I thought he was going to be when I traded for him. But my gut the whole time said not to trade Dansby Swanson," Stewart said.

"I ended up giving in to it and letting, in my opinion, a good player get away. If anything, maybe substituting with another player, that may have been the one thing that I wish I could have a redo."

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