Miller, Owings, Boxberger are not offered contracts

The Diamondbacks parted ways with three veterans on Friday, choosing not to tender contracts to righthander Shelby Miller, infielder/outfielder Chris Owings and reliever Brad Boxberger.

None of the moves came as a surprise. According to estimates by mlbtraderumors.com, Miller and Boxberger were projected to earn close to $5 million and Owings around $3.5 million, making them expensive relative to their recent levels of production.

General Manager Mike Hazen described the moves as being more about opportunity than cost. He noted that right-handers Matt Koch and Silvino Bracho will be out of options next year, and that the club wasn’t ready to essentially lock in roster spots to Miller and Boxberger this early.

With Owings, he said the Diamondbacks are deep in infielders, adding that they don’t project him to be their center fielder.

Miller’s departure closes the book on one of the worst deals in club history. The Diamondbacks paid a heavy cost to acquire Miller in a December 2015 trade with the Atlanta Braves, parting ways with, among others, outfielder Ender Inciarte and No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson, and received little in terms of positive results.

Boxberger was cut loose one year to the day after the Diamondbacks acquired him in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He held down the closer’s role for most of this year before losing the job in September, finishing with a 4.39 ERA and 32 saves in 40 chances.