Mariners’ Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment

SEATTLE – The Seattle Mariners expect right-hander Bryce Miller to return to big league action in about a month.

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General manager Justin Hollander said Friday that Miller, who started the season on the injured list with a left oblique strain, will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday. Miller will likely need a full 30-day build up before joining the big league club since he made only one appearance during spring training. He’ll also bounce between Tacoma and High-A Everett in order to remain in the area through his rehab process.

“He feels great right now,” Hollander said. “… Really excited about where he is and how he’s progressed, and now he just needs a full build up. So likely 30 days to build up for Bryce and then hopefully good to go.”

The plan is for Miller to be on a six-day schedule. He’ll have a 30-pitch limit in his first two starts, which will grown to 45 and then 60 over his next two outings if all goes to plan.

The Mariners will be monitoring how Miller recovers between starts, as that was the issue that was cropping up with the oblique. It wasn’t bothering Miller while on the mound, but he wasn’t recovering properly.

“It’s never really bothered him to a degree that we felt like we had to shut him down while the outings were going. Just kind of like an aching feeling and then sore afterwards,” Hollander said, adding Miller got to the point of having no lingering oblique soreness in the past seven to 10 days.

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Miller, who rejoined the club in Seattle on Friday and took part in some pregame drills, said he’s feeling 100% now and described the recovery from the oblique as a “roller coaster.”

“I’d get to a point where it felt really good and then I throw, bullpen would go good, velo would be great, and then the next couple of days it just wouldn’t recover quick enough,” Miller said.

Miller stayed back in Arizona when the Mariners broke camp for the regular season. As part of his rehab process, he threw a live bullpen three weeks ago and another last weekend.

“Velo was great and everything was super sharp,” Miller said. “And then the days after that felt 100%, completely normal. So, ready to get back on a normal schedule.”

Hollander noted Miller was hitting 98 and 99 mph on his fastball during his latest live BP.

When Miller makes his eventual return to the majors, he could come back to a crowded rotation. Right-hander Emerson Hancock, the team’s No. 6 starter heading into the season, is pitching the best he has in his big league career with a 2.28 ERA over 23 2/3 innings over his first four starts.

Hollander said what the Mariners will do if Miller comes back to a healthy rotation with Hancock still pitching well is a question they’ll address if they get there.

“If we get a month from now and that’s what happens, we’ll figure it out. We haven’t made any decisions on that whatsoever,” he said.

The Mariners are back home at T-Mobile Park to open a three-game series against the Texas Rangers beginning with the opener at 6:40 p.m. Friday. Mariners Radio Network coverage begins on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app at 5:30 with the pregame show.

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