The Mariners announced today that right-hander Bryce Miller has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 12th, due to right elbow inflammation. Left-hander Jhonathan Díaz has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
The club hasn’t yet provided any updates on the severity of Miller’s injury or how long they expect him to be out, but it’s always worrisome when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is injured. His most recent start was against the Blue Jays on Sunday, which did not go well, as he allowed seven earned runs in five innings.
Afterwards, he spoke of some physical issues he’s been battling this season but without getting too specific, alluding to some arm soreness and back tightness. “In the past, it felt like I could get through six innings, it’s a breeze,” Miller said, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “I’d feel as good as I do in the sixth as I did in the first. And it’s been a struggle to have that feeling so far. So I don’t know. We’re going to work on it.” Though he didn’t provide many details, Miller continued: “I’ve had multiple things that kind of have lingered since, really, the end of last season, and I kind of took them through the offseason. I thought that I’d be feeling good, and I haven’t felt like myself, body-wise and physically. I think that’s led to being more on my heels mentally, and it just kind of snowballed.”
Miller’s velocity is down a bit compared to last year. He averaged 95.2 miles per hour on his fastball in 2024 and was in that range for much of the early parts of the season as well. So far this year, he’s down to 94.4 mph. Most of his other pitches are down a tick or two as well.
As Miller alluded to, getting deeper into games has been an issue. He hasn’t yet gone six frames in a start this year. His first two outings were his only two going more than five innings. Last year, he went seven innings seven times and six or above an additional 13 times.
The righty is currently sporting a 5.22 earned run average on the year, a big jump from last year’s 2.94 ERA. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a few points below last year’s 24.3% mark, while his walk rate has almost doubled from 6.4% to 12.1%.
Perhaps the physical issues provide a partial explanation for the declining results, but it’s still an unpleasant development for the M’s, who are already dealing with a depleted rotation. George Kirby has been on the IL all season so far due to shoulder inflammation. Logan Gilbert followed him to the IL in late April, suffering from a flexor strain in his pitching elbow.
The Mariners were hoping to start the season with an elite rotation consisting of Miller, Kirby, Gilbert, Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo. That was such a talented group that trade rumors swirled around them all winter. The Seattle front office downplayed the possibility of a trade and is surely glad that they resisted the temptation to flip pitching for more offense, as they are now without three of their projected starting five.
Kirby has been on a rehab assignment and is expected to make one more appearance in the minors before rejoining the major league club next week. Gilbert is perhaps a bit behind Kirby, though he did throw a bullpen yesterday, per Kramer.
For the time being, the Mariners will proceed with a rotation consisting of Castillo, Woo, Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock. Castillo is starting today’s game and then the club is off tomorrow. Díaz can perhaps make a spot start or serve as a long reliever out of the bullpen. That might be a short stay with Kirby due back soon, but both Evans and Hancock currently have ERAs at 6.60 or above, so perhaps one of them could get bumped out instead.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
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