The Seattle Mariners have moved Bryce Miller from their starting rotation to the bullpen after an eight-start stretch in which he posted a 7.19 ERA and Seattle lost every game he started, according to MLB.com.
The club plans to use Miller as a traditional reliever rather than in a piggyback role. His immediate availability was not determined, and the Mariners planned to ease him into the new assignment rather than use him only in mop-up duty or long relief.
Manager Dan Wilson said the move is temporary. “This is not a permanent thing,” Wilson said, according to MLB.com.
Mariners still see Miller as a starter
General manager Justin Hollander said the club wants Miller to focus on shorter appearances. Hollander said the right approach for Miller and the team was to narrow his workload and have him concentrate on one or two innings at a time.
Wilson said Miller remains part of the Mariners’ long-term plans. “And Bryce is going to be a pitcher for us for a long time, win a lot of games for us. And I think there’s a long history of starters that have gone through some of the same kind of things. And it’s a chance to go down there and get himself right and help the team out in the process.”
Miller told MLB.com that he still sees himself as a starter. “I view myself as a starter long term,” he said. He also said he was willing to accept the club’s instructions while maintaining confidence in his starting ability.
“I have never doubted myself or doubted my ability to start, so I don’t have any question about that within myself. I believe that when things are going right with me, I’m one of the best starters in the league. I told them, ‘Whatever I need to do, I’ll throw whatever they tell me to.’”
Rotation plans and bullpen transition
The Mariners informed Miller of the change before publicly announcing their rotation plans. MLB.com reported that Miller met with Hollander, Jerry Dipoto, Wilson, Trent Blank and Pete Woodworth after Wednesday’s game in Seattle.
He threw a bullpen session after the game and had walked to the home bullpen during the fifth inning as a just-in-case measure for Bryan Woo’s return, but he did not pitch.
Seattle listed its weekend rotation as Emerson Hancock, Kade Anderson and Logan Gilbert. Anderson had been called up the day before Wednesday’s game, and the club suggested he would stay.
Miller was hit hard in his most recent start against the Cubs, which was the eighth consecutive start the Mariners lost dating back to July 9. Hollander said the club still believes Miller can eventually handle high-leverage work: “But I do think the best version of Bryce could pitch the highest-leverage moments of anybody’s season.”