Dodgers Demote Star Pitcher After Massive ‘Hotbox’ Struggles

Getty Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discussed demoting Bobby Miller.

It is not a big surprise to find that the Dodgers are down another starting pitcher. That’s been a theme this MLB season. But for once, it was poor performance and not an ill-timed injury that caused the Dodgers to lose a rotation member.

Just after getting knocked around by the Phillies for 10 hits and nine runs, including two homers allowed, Bobby Miller was dumped back down to Triple A Oklahoma City, halting his latest big-league stint at four starts going back to June 19. Miller had been in the rotation to open the season but was sidetracked by a shoulder injury.

In all, he is now 1-2 with an 8.07 ERA in seven starts as a big-leaguer this year. He was outstanding in his debut outing in 2024, striking out 11 in six innings and not allowing a run back on march 29, but he has not been the same since. He did not register a quality start in his six subsequent starts, and was not much better in the minors as he was rehabbing, going 0-2 with a 7.80 ERA in four starts.

Dodgers Pitching Injuries Piling Up

It’s a blow for the Dodgers, who are already facing a rotation that has been without Clayton Kershaw all season and has since lost Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to injuries. This week, All-Star Tyler Glasnow went down, too, hitting the 15-day DL with a back injury.

Miller, the Dodgers’ first-round pick in 2020, was seen as a hurler ready for primetime this year after an electric debut in 2023. He went 11-4 that season, with a 3.76 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 124 innings.

But consistent control has been a difficulty for Miller over the years, and that problem has reared its head again this season. He has walked three batters in each of his last five starts, in part fueling the rough outings he has had lately.

His ability to handle pressure and keep his mental focus has been a concern. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that the team needed to get him out of the “hotbox.”

“No. 1, we got to get him right, that’s the impetus,” manager Dave Roberts said, per the LA Times. “You have a path to either continue to go as we have been, and hope that it turns; or remove him from the situation, option him, and give him a reset to get out of this hotbox of performance. So we just felt this was the best thing for Bobby and for us. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do this year.”

Bobby Miller Back for Playoffs?

That is the hope, at least. As the season has trudged on, the Dodgers have projected an air of calm, even as injuries keep chipping away at the team’s immensely deep and expensive roster. The Dodgers invested $1 billion in stars Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani this offseason, fully expecting a trip to the World Series to be in the offing.

But the spate of injuries could force the team to take action at the trade deadline, which is looming on July 30. The Dodgers may get Miller—or Kershaw, or Yamamoto—back and productive in time for the playoffs, but they can’t rely on that.

Roberts is trying to keep things in the moment, though.

“The last thing I’m thinking about is a playoff rotation,” Roberts said. “We don’t even know who Sunday’s starter is. We have a lot of good options [for the playoffs] if they’re healthy and pitching well. But right now we’re just a long way from that point.”