Mariners move right-hander Bryce Miller to bullpen

The Seattle Mariners are moving struggling starting pitcher Bryce Miller to the bullpen, manager Dan Wilson told reporters before Friday’s game in Toronto.

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Wilson said the move will be on a “short-term basis” and the team still views Miller as a starter in the long-term.

“A chance for him to go down and make some adjustments and get back on track in some way,” Wilson said. “And I think it’s been a tougher stretch for him here, but I think this is a good opportunity for him, a good opportunity for our team. There’s no set time. I think this is not a permanent thing and Bryce is going to be a pitcher for us for a long time, win a lot of games for us.”

Wilson was vague about whether or not Miller would be available out of the bullpen for Friday’s series opener. The right-hander last pitched on Sunday.

“As we look at it, we’ll obviously find spots for him that make the most sense, particularly early, and that’s what we’ll be looking to do,” Wilson said of Miller’s Friday availability. “But I’m looking forward to him getting those opportunities and finding it as quickly as possible and getting back on track.”

The team is open to using Miller for both multi-inning and one-inning appearances out of the pen, and it believes Miller could work his way into being called on in high-leverage situations. Early on, however, Miller is not expected to be used in a “pivot” role where he would come in during the middle of an inning.

Miller was informed of the decision Wednesday.

“It was a hard conversation,” general manager Justin Hollander told reporters. “He’s been a very good major league starting pitcher for a long time, and he’s going to be one again. I think for him right now and for our team right now, the right thing is to shrink it down a little bit, let him focus for an inning or two at a time.”

Hollander said Miller was disappointed but understanding of the move.

The M’s are hopeful Miller’s stuff will play up in shorter outings.

“I think what we saw coming out of the gate this year where he was, in shorter bursts, really fresh with elite, elite stuff, I would expect it to play that way this late in the season in short bursts as well,” Hollander said. “Bryce has great stuff.”

With Miller moving to a relief role, the M’s now have a full eight-man bullpen, which is something they haven’t had multiple times throughout this season while juggling carrying six starting pitchers on their 26-man roster.

“Obviously, when you make choices about how many staters you have, whether it’s six or six with a piggyback, you give up things in the bullen,” Hollander said. “And right now, we feel like he needs a blow and to get refocused on the best version of himself, and our guy needs to put the guys out there to start the game who we think are the most dialed today.”

The decision to move Miller to the bullpen comes after extended struggles for the 28 year old following what had been a strong start to his 2026 campaign.

In his first nine outings (eight starts), Miller posted a 1.71 ERA with 62 strikeouts to just five walks over 52 2/3 innings, with some of those appearances coming while pitching in a piggyback with Luis Castillo. But in his eight starts since July 9, Miller has a 7.19 ERA and 30 strikeouts to 20 walks over 41 1/3 innings. The M’s lost all eight of those games.

After his most recent outing on Sunday, which he surrendered six runs over 4 1/3 innings in against the Chicago Cubs, Miller revealed a lat issue came up during a start July 24 at Texas, though he said is hasn’t been an issue lately.

Miller has made one appearance out of the bullpen in the majors, which came earlier this season while pitching in a piggyback with Castillo on May 25 against the Athletics. Miller allowed two runs over five innings in the outing.

The right-hander made 44 relief appearances over three college seasons at Texas A&M, which included being a full-time member of the Aggies’ bullpen his first two years.

As for the Mariners’ rotation plans this weekend in Toronto, right-hander Emerson Hancock is starting Friday’s series opener, rookie left-hander Kade Anderson will start Saturday and right-hander Logan Gilbert will take the mound for Sunday’s series finale.

The Mariners and Blue Jays begin their three-game series at 4:15 p.m. Friday. Radio coverage on Seattle Red 770 AM and the Seattle Sports app begins with the pregame show at 3 p.m.

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