Mariners’ Bryce Miller could be big weapon in playoffs out of bullpen

Sep 24, 2025, 11:56 AM

Editor, Seattle Sports

When the Seattle Mariners begin the playoffs, they won’t need all five of their starting pitchers in the rotation.

So who will head to the bullpen?

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Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk believes the answer will be Bryce Miller, who is essentially the No. 5 man out of the Mariners’ starters. But that’s not necessarily the reason Miller makes the most sense to transition to a relief role in the playoffs.

“I think Bryce Miller’s going to be the guy in the ‘pen,” Salk said during Wednesday’s edition of Brock and Salk, the first show after Miller started the game in which the M’s clinched their spot in the playoffs. “… But here’s the good news: I don’t think it’s just because he’s been the least effective (Mariners starting pitcher in 2025). From everything I’ve heard in and around the organization, it’s not that. It’s that Bryce Miller, his arm will play up out of the bullpen. That they’ve seen it.”

The 27-year-old Miller actually began his college career as a reliever, coming out of the bullpen in 44 of his 54 games at Texas A&M. His first two appearances as a pro with Single-A Modesto were also in relief.

“He actually is the only one in the (Mariners’ rotation) with legitimate relieving experience,” Salk continued. “… I think they think that 98-99 (mph fastball) becomes pretty unhittable if he only has to throw an inning at a time.”

Salk’s co-host Brock Huard is on board with the idea, and mentioned how he sees a similarity between Seattle’s right-hander nicknamed “Big Tex” and a former Mariners closer from Louisiana: lefty Norm Charlton, who had the nickname of “The Sheriff.”

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“Can you imagine the cocksureness he’s going to walk out of that fence with?” Huard said of Miller coming out of the bullpen. “He’s going to open that door and he’s going to walk out like ‘The Sheriff.’ He’s got a little Norm to him anyway, a little look to him. He can walk out and strut to that mound and that fastball is going to play up like 97-98.”

Salk wondered if Miller, who had two stints on the injured list this season and made just two starts between May 11 and Aug. 18 due to elbow inflammation, could channel the dominance he had when he first debuted in the majors in 2023 by getting the chance to pitch short outings.

Miller opened his Mariners career by allowing just one earned run over 19 innings (0.47 ERA) in his first three starts, as well as just four earned runs over 31 1/3 innings (1.15 ERA) over his first five starts, each of which were quality starts (at least six innings pitched with no more than three earned runs allowed). Miller became just the fifth pitcher since 1901 – rookie or not – to make three consecutive outings of six innings with no more than three baserunners allowed, and that’s how he started his career. He also was the first pitcher in MLB history to have a sub-1.00 ERA, at least 15 strikeouts and no more than one walk in his first two career starts.

“Do you remember how dominant he was in those first couple of starts? Well, if you can simplify and get that version of Bryce – the completely amped-up, short-stretch, one-inning-at-a-time Bryce Miller – that would be quite the weapon to have in the postseason,” Salk said.

Catch Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays.