Bryce Miller's Long Road Back Starts Saturday in Tacoma: A Two-Inning Rehab Test

The waiting is almost over. Bryce Miller will finally step on the mound Saturday night at Cheney Stadium for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, marking the start of his rehab assignment after nearly 10 weeks battling a mild oblique strain. He's throwing two innings or roughly 30 pitches. "I'm excited to go down to Tacoma and let it rip and go from there," Miller said after suiting up in the Mariners clubhouse Friday afternoon.

It's been a grind getting to this point. Way back on Feb. 26, Miller felt discomfort in his side during and after his first outing in spring training. One week of shutdown followed. Since then, it's been a roller coaster of recovery, with the oblique repeatedly letting him down just when things looked good.

The Roller Coaster Rehab Process

"It was kind of a roller coaster of a rehab process," Miller said. "I'd get to a point where it felt really good, and then I'd throw bullpen and it would go good, the velocity would be great, but then the next couple days, it just wouldn't recover quick enough."

The soreness and recovery issues plagued him through full bullpen sessions. But the last few weeks of throwing have been different. Miller threw two live batting practice sessions, most recently last Saturday, and his fastball touched 98-99 mph. No setbacks. No lingering pain. "My velocity was great and everything was super sharp," he said. "The days after that, I felt completely normal."

A Full Month to Build Back Up

The Mariners are taking the long view here. After Saturday's two-inning appearance in Tacoma, Miller gets five days rest before throwing Friday for High-A Everett with a three-inning limit or 45 pitches. General Manager Justin Hollander said he'll need a full 30 days to build back up, similar to the ramp-up guys do in February and March.

If everything goes smoothly, Miller makes five starts on rehab and builds toward 90 pitches. The bigger question looming: what happens when he's ready to return? Emerson Hancock has been throwing well. Will they option Hancock back to Tacoma? Go with a six-man rotation? Hollander isn't losing sleep over it yet. "One thing that I never lay at night, not able to sleep thinking about, which is if we have too many good starting pitchers," he said. "It's not a thing that happens to almost anyone."

In other injury news, Patrick Wisdom was placed on the 10-day injured list with a mild oblique strain after an MRI in San Diego. Rob Refsnyder was reinstated from the paternity list and took Wisdom's spot. Victor Robles has been cleared for baseball activity but not throwing yet. Reliever Carlos Vargas was cleared to play catch on Thursday.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.