Here's What Seattle Mariners' Bryce Miller Had to Say About Elbow Injury and IL Trip
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners got another hit to their pitching staff when they placed Bryce Miller on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation Wednesday. Miller became the third member of the Mariners starting rotation to land on the 15-day IL this season. George Kirby began the season on the IL with right shoulder inflammation and Logan Gilbert landed on the shelf with a Grade 1 flexor strain on April 26.
But there's an optimism surrounding Miller and the team expects him back quickly.
Miller received a cortisone shot on Tuesday to help flush the inflammation, and received an MRI on Monday that showed no structural damage. Seattle general manager Justin Hollander went on Seattle Sports 710 on Wednesday and said the expectation and hope is a minimal IL stint for Miller.
"I haven't ever felt like I was hurt or I couldn't pitch," Miller said in a pregame interview Wednesday. " I could go out and throw. But I just hadn't been able to feel like myself. I didn't think anything major was wrong. It just was something that's been lingering and hasn't been able to fix itself. ... Talked to a few guys about cortisone stuff, like (Matt) Brash. He said he had great results with it in the past. And (Jorge) Polanco, he had a few last year, I think. Excited to get on the back end of this and hopefully feel good and feel like I did last year and throughout the year."
Miller said that the inflammation was a lingering injury that first arose in the last two months of last season. He carried the injury into the offseason but felt good during and coming out of spring training.
Miller managed the injury with medication in 2024, but was uncomfortable using that as a solution for the entire season this year.
Miller has been vocally frustrated with his performance this season, and has talked about the physical and mental effects that have been tied to his injury. Now that the problem has been identified and a potential fix has been administered, he's optimistic it will lead to him returning to the form he had last year where he posted a sub-2.00 ERA post All-Star break.
Miller has a 5.22 ERA this season with 35 strikeouts in 39.2 innings pitched across eight starts.
Bryce Miller, Wicked 84mph Knuckle Curve...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/8OtVYxiJtd
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 6, 2025
"I'm excited to get past this and hopefully come out ready to go and finish the year strong," Miller said. "Actually go out and pitch like myself and feel good going into the later parts of games. It's a tough game and whenever you have all this other stuff stacking on top, it definitely doesn't make it easier. Getting through this is gonna be good. Not just physically, but mentally too. Going out and feeling confident and knowing I that can go out there and let it rip."
Miller's IL placement was retrodated to May 12, meaning the soonest he could be activated is May 27. His return will closely coincide with Kirby. Gilbert, who recently threw a 25-pitch bullpen, won't be too far behind (barring setbacks). The Mariners haven't had luck with pitching health in 2025 like it did in 2024. If Seattle can continue to weather the storm when the trio returns, it'll help set the club for success the rest of the year.
"I was talking to Logan yesterday," Miller said. "Give it a couple weeks and we should be all back firing on all cylinders, ready to go. And I think that's gonna be a big boost for all of us individually, but us as a team, as well."
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