Bryce Miller: Everything you need to know

Miller (oblique) allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three over 5.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Astros on Wednesday. Miller missed over a quarter of the season while recovering from a left oblique strain. He threw 58 of 81 pitches for strikes in his season debut, so he may have had a slight workload limitation in place. That will likely continue in his next start, tentatively expected to be against the White Sox, as Miller and Luis Castillo are expected to work as a tandem in that game to buy the Mariners some time to sort out what to do with their rotation, which has six healthy starters. As long as Miller pitches well, he's likely to be a starter moving forward, though he'll also need to stay healthy as he tries to bounce back from an ugly 5.68 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 90.1 innings in the 2025 regular season, which was disrupted by elbow troubles.

The Mariners reinstated Miller (oblique) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday in Houston. The 27-year-old will be making his 2026 debut for the Mariners after spending the first seven weeks of the season on the shelf while recovering from a left oblique strain that he sustained early in spring training. Miller is coming off a rough 2025 campaign in which he compiled a 5.28 ERA and a middling 10.2 K-BB% over 18 starts during the regular season, though he fared better over his three playoff starts. The right-hander was generally sharp over his four-start rehab assignment (1.98 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 14:7 K:BB in 13.2 innings), but he'll likely need to perform well upon his return from the shelf to ensure he maintains a spot in the Seattle rotation for the long haul. While Miller will receive a standalone start Wednesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times relays that the Mariners plan to have him piggyback with the struggling Luis Castillo for a game during next week's series versus the White Sox. How Miller and Castillo perform in their next two appearances could determine which of the two remains in a starting role when the Mariners condense from a six-man to five-man rotation.

Miller (oblique) will return from the injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Astros, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports Miller has been on the injured list since the beginning of the season with a left oblique strain. He's made four rehab starts in the minors since then, allowing three earned runs and posting a 14:7 K:BB over 13.2 innings. He built up to just 61 pitches over five innings during his most recent outing at High-A Everett, so the Mariners may have him on a pitch count during his season debut in Houston.