Bryce Miller suffered a left oblique strain in spring training this year, causing him to miss the beginning of the season. He has made a couple of rehab starts for the High-A Everett Aquasox already and is looking good. He is set to return to the Seattle Mariners rotation in middle/late May. With Miller returning to the rotation in the coming weeks, the Mariners will be faced with a tough decision on who to keep in the starting rotation. Getting Bryce Miller back in the rotation will be big for this team, but how will it affect the rest of the starters and the person facing a demotion?
How Bryce Miller’s return will look for Seattle
What the Mariners are Getting
Since making his debut in 2023, Bryce Miller has been a big part of this rotation’s success. He helped them become known as one of, if not the, best rotations in baseball. Last season, he suffered a couple of injuries that limited his playing time. He had only 18 starts, but played a crucial role in the postseason for this team. Miller has a career 4.01 ERA with a 364/105 K/BB ratio. With a 1.127 WHIP, he has some very solid stats to start his young career. 2024 was his best season, with a 2.94 ERA in 31 starts and 171 strikeouts that season. Hopefully, his injury struggles are behind him, and with a late start to this season, he can be expected to be in top form.
Tough Decisions
With Miller returning, there will be a choice of who the Mariners choose to remove from the rotation. They could decide to run with a 6-man rotation, but it is highly unlikely. This means it will probably come down to removing Emerson Hancock or Luis Castillo. They will most likely get moved to the bullpen. This is a very tough choice because Castillo is the oldest veteran in this rotation. At the same time, Hancock has been the best starter all year. Hancock leads the team in ERA, hits given up, walks given up, and opponent average. At the same time, Castillo, on the other hand, is at the bottom of every stat for the starters. This is a tough decision because there is no telling what the outcome will be for either pitcher in terms of success.
What will happen
What will most likely happen is that Emerson Hancock gets sent to the bullpen instead of Castillo. Hancock has bullpen experience, and this has happened before. When starters got injured in recent seasons, Hancock would fill in. Then, when they returned, he would move to the bullpen or down to Triple-A. This may confuse and frustrate some people because it will be hard to justify removing the best pitcher from the starting rotation. With Luis Castillo on the back end of his contract, they may try to get all they can from him. Either way the Mariners go, it will be a tough decision for management. Seeing what has happened in the past, it will likely be Hancock to the pen, as it has before.
Castillo is a good pitcher; he could just be going through a rough patch, or his age is finally catching up to him. There is no telling if it will continue or turn around. A strong feeling is that Bryce Miller will help this team win games. With the starting pitching a little wobbly at the start of the season, it should be good to get another arm in the rotation. Miller is finally healthy again and can add to this team’s success, which they’ve been finding in recent games. Only time will tell whether the Mariners make the right decision or have to turn it all around in a couple of months.
Main Photo Credits: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
