Struggling Mariners rotation remains snakebit after alarming Bryce Miller news

The Seattle Mariners are in the midst of a worst-case scenario. On Wednesday morning, the team announced that right-handed pitcher Bryce Miller has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 12, due to right elbow inflammation. It’s another shocking setback for a rotation that has gone from being one of the deepest in baseball to scrambling for solutions. 

Miller joins fellow right-handers George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, who are already sidelined with injury issues of their own as the Mariners attempt to navigate a crucial stretch of the season without three of their best arms.

Bryce Miller’s shaky outings may have foreshadowed latest injury

If there is any good news here, it's that an MRI revealed no structural damage to Miller's elbow, as Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported on X:

Miller's injury development comes after weeks of noticeable signs that something just wasn’t right. Miller’s velocity had dipped, his command had wavered, and though he insisted he felt healthy enough to take the mound, it’s not uncommon for pitchers to battle through discomfort until they simply can’t anymore.

His most recent outing — a rocky five-inning performance against Toronto where he surrendered seven runs on eight hits — further fueled speculation that he wasn’t operating at full strength.

Following that game, Miller admitted that he had been dealing with lingering arm soreness and back tightness earlier this season. Whether that played a role in his latest setback is unclear, but the Mariners are now forced to proceed without him for the foreseeable future.

In a corresponding move, the Mariners recalled Jonathan Díaz to help stabilize the rotation. Díaz joins Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Evans, and Emerson Hancock as Seattle’s patchwork starting five. It’s a far cry from the group that led Major League Baseball in ERA, WHIP, and innings pitched for much of last season.

Seattle’s starting pitching staff had been one of the healthiest in baseball the past two seasons, but that streak appears to have run its course. The timing, while unfortunate, leaves a glimmer of hope. With the Mariners currently sitting five games above .500, there’s still plenty of season left to recover.

With Kirby and Gilbert already working their way back and aiming to return at the end of May, Seattle could find itself returning to full strength just in time to make a second-half playoff push. Until then, the Mariners’ depth will be tested like never before, and their ability to tread water in the meantime could define their 2025 campaign.