More bad news for the Seattle Mariners’ battered pitching rotation.
From Bryce Miller’s perspective, though, this latest injury development could ultimately be a good thing.
Miller was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right elbow inflammation, joining George Kirby and Logan Gilbert as Seattle’s third starting pitcher to land on the IL with arm troubles already this season.
Medical imaging on Miller’s elbow, conducted Monday, showed no structural damage. He had a cortisone shot in his elbow Tuesday to reduce the inflammation, and he hopes he will need just a minimum two-week stint on the injured list.
“It sucks going on the IL, and it sucks missing starts,” Miller said Wednesday morning. “But the best news was that everything else looks really good [in his elbow], and they’re telling me it’ll feel good coming out the back end. So if I can take care of it now and be good through the summer and through the end of the season and hopefully in the playoffs — that’s what I want.”
Miller was roughed up for seven runs over five innings in the Mariners’ 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, a continuation of his early-season struggles.
The right-hander is 2-4 with 5.22 ERA in eight starts, with 21 walks and 35 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings. His 12.1% walk rate this season is more than double his career average.
Miller has been open after some starts that he has been battling soreness in his arm and back. Turns out, Miller said his elbow soreness goes back to the end of last season.
“It was at the point where it wasn’t getting better doing what we were doing,” Miller said. “And I don’t think that continuing to throw and continuing to push it was going to just magically fix it. …
“It’s been really frustrating, because I feel like I’ve done everything I possibly can arm-care wise and preparation wise, and it just hasn’t improved.”
In 2024, Miller was one of the best pitchers in the American League, posting a 2.94 ERA in 31 starts. He had 171 strikeouts and 45 walks in 180 1/3 innings.
The Mariners have been incredibly fortunate with the health of their rotation over the previous two seasons, and their starters led the majors in innings pitched in each of the previous two seasons.
Already, the Mariners have been without Kirby (shoulder inflammation) since the start of this season.
Gilbert landed on the IL on April 26 because of a right elbow flexor strain.
“We’ve weathered the storm here with some injuries, and we’ll just have to continue to do it,” manager Dan Wilson said.
The Mariners have been encouraged by the recent progress of Kirby and Gilbert.
Kirby is scheduled to make his third rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma on Friday. If that goes well, there’s a chance Kirby could be activated by the end of the Mariners’ upcoming road trip.
Gilbert had his first full-fledged throwing session in the bullpen Tuesday and reported afterward that he felt good. The Mariners have not announced a timeline for Gilbert’s potential return, but he’s likely still at least a few weeks from being activated.
“I was talking to Logan yesterday — like, ‘Give it a couple weeks, and we should all be back and hopefully firing on all cylinders, ready to go,’ ” Miller said. “And I think that’s going to be a big boost for all of us individually [and] us as a team as well.”
The Mariners called up left-hander Jhonathan Díaz from Tacoma to take Miller’s spot on the roster. He has pitched in seven games (six starts) with the Rainiers and is 2-3 with a 5.87 ERA.
Wednesday’s move is retroactive to May 12.
Crawford a late scratch
More potential injury news for the Mariners’ battered lineup.
J.P. Crawford, some 13 hours after playing the hero in the Mariners’ walkoff victory over the Yankees, was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.
The club said it would not have an update on Crawford until after the game.
Leo Rivas was inserted in the lineup at shortstop, and second baseman Miles Mastrobuoni took Crawford’s spot at the top of the order.
The Mariners have already been without three starters from their opening-day lineup. Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss have long-term injuries, and Luke Raley isn’t expected back for several more weeks because of an oblique injury.