The Mariners are temporarily moving struggling right-hander Bryce Miller to the bullpen, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Manager Dan Wilson called it a “short-term” switch, though it is unclear if Miller will return to the rotation this season.
This continues a tough couple of years for Miller, who has fallen short of expectations since he notched a sterling 2.94 ERA in 180 1/3 innings in 2024. While battling elbow troubles last year, Miller threw just 90 1/3 innings, slumped to a 5.68 ERA and saw his strikeout and walk numbers decline to notable degrees. Miller bounced back to allow just four earned runs in 14 1/3 frames in the playoffs, though he only combined for nine strikeouts in those three outings.
After falling one victory shy of winning their first pennant in 2025, the Mariners came into this year with World Series aspirations. They have instead posted a dismal 64-71 record during what has been a Murphy’s Law season. Miller is among several Mariners who have not performed as hoped, but that’s not to suggest he has been a liability. After missing the first month and a half with an oblique injury, the 28-year-old delivered superb results between his mid-May debut and the end of July.
Miller came into August with a 2.80 ERA and excellent strikeout and walk numbers (26.1% and 4.6%, respectively) over 74 innings. However, the wheels have come off over the past few weeks. He coughed up between four and six earned runs in all four August starts, including a 4 1/3-inning, six-ER performance in a 19-2 drubbing against the Cubs last Sunday. Miller walked seven in that game, upping his free pass total to 12 in 20 innings this month and contributing to a 9.00 ERA.
Miller’s ugly stretch has left him with a still-decent 4.12 ERA in 94 frames, and he continues to boast above-average K/BB numbers. To no surprise, general manager Justin Hollander expressed confidence that Miller will regain form.
“He’s been a very good major league starting pitcher for a long time, and he’s going to be one again,” Hollander said Friday.
Hollander added that the Mariners want to “let [Miller] focus for an inning or two at a time.” As a career-long starter since he came up in 2023, Miller is understandably disappointed. Hollander called breaking the news to Miller a “hard conversation,” but the hurler declared his goal remains to “put up a zero” whenever he gets the ball. The bullpen isn’t foreign to Miller, who Divish notes worked in relief at Texas A&M during his sophomore and junior seasons.
Miller is preparing to move back to the bullpen for the first time since his Aggies days, though a potential injury to righty Emerson Hancock could affect the M’s plans. After throwing five innings of five-run ball in an 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday, Hancock said he tweaked his left groin. The Mariners will see how Hancock is doing on Saturday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com relays.
Unless Hancock misses time, he will continue to team with Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Kade Anderson in Seattle’s rotation. That group may be talented enough to lead the Mariners on a late-season charge to the playoffs, but time is running out. On the heels of their latest loss, the Mariners are four games back in both the AL West and Wild Card races.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
