Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment, creating good problem for Mariners

Feb 26, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller (50) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images A familiar face was back at T-Mobile Park on Friday. “Hello, hi, yes, it’s me, I’m back.

Yes, hi, hello,” said Bryce Miller in his familiar Texas accent as he ambled down the clubhouse hallway, greeting the assembled media like a visiting dignitary in a receiving line. It’s been a long layoff for Miller, who hasn’t pitched since February 26th, when he made his first start of spring and then promptly went on the IL with a left oblique injury. The injury is unrelated to the right elbow injury that kept Miller out at times for last year, but it’s not less frustrating for the amiable Miller, who – as is typical – joked about his injury in a media availability prior to Friday’s game.

“I was on a 27 year streak without an oblique injury, so if I restarted it, that gives me another 27 or so. ” Miller said he didn’t learn a new pitch during his long layoff, despite “scouring” social media looking for one, but said he has been messing with his cutter and trying out a new grip on his slider that he picked up from Houston’s Bryan Abreu; he’s curious to see how the slider will play in Seattle’s colder air after it was really “depthy” in Arizona. “I’m just trying to get some kind of breaking ball I can get more whiff on.

That’s something I struggled with the last few years, so hopefully this is the one – I’ve tried every slider grip possible. This is one I think I’ll be able to throw in any count, and hopefully have a little bit of leeway if I do miss. The slider of the past kind of felt like if I missed it, it kind of got punished.