seattle righty Bryce Miller Elbow surgery is not expected to be needed this offseason, according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. Miller was on the injured list multiple times last season due to elbow inflammation. He returned for the final six weeks of the regular season and started three games in the playoffs. “I ended the year with the best results of the year – I feel like three good starts,” Miller told Jude. “My body and arm feel good, so just get better, be fully healthy and be ready from Day 1 next year.”
Miller was diagnosed with bone spurs in his elbow and received PRP injections in early June. He relayed to Jude that he had an upcoming appointment to determine the next steps in treatment. Miller said a possible route would be a gel cortisone shot early in the offseason and possibly another dose at the start of spring training. “Now that we know how to deal with bone spurs, we can figure out how we need to deal with it and go from there,” Miller told Jude. He added that he would “surprise“If the appointment results in invasive surgery.
An elbow injury appeared to derail the early stages of Miller’s 2025 season. In his first eight starts, he had a 5.22 ERA. Control is the biggest red flag. Miller, who posted a 6.4% on-base percentage in 2024, nearly doubled that number to 12.1% through his first 39 2/3 innings. He arrived in Illinois on May 14, although this was the shortest time. Miller returned in late May but made just two starts. He allowed eight earned runs in nine innings and returned to Illinois.
The results after Miller’s second absence weren’t much better. He ended the regular season with a 5.62 ERA in eight starts, but there were encouraging signs heading into the postseason. Miller’s fastball velocity increased by nearly a mile an hour. He lowered his walk rate to 6.3%. Miller’s highlight is a high 24.5% home run fly ball rate, a rate expected to return in a larger sample.
Miller put it all together in the playoffs. In ALDS Game 4, he limited the Tigers to two runs in 4 1/3 innings. Miller then went on to beat the Toronto Raptors with six dominant innings to open the ALCS. He returned with four one-run innings in Game 5, although Toronto’s bullpen was unable to hold on to the late lead. In his second start against the Mariners, Miller’s fastball velocity reached 98.1 mph.
For Miller, the uneven 2025 season was a disappointing one after a stellar 2024. He had a stellar rookie season, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in 180 1/3 innings last season with almost a strikeout per inning. Miller’s 3.85 xFIP and 3.80 SIERA suggest he might not be as good as his 2.94 ERA, but he looks like a fixture in a talented rotation.
After a very healthy 2024, Seattle’s starters were hampered by injuries last season. Logan Gilbert Spent all of May and part of June on the IL with an elbow flexor strain. George Bryant Missed the first two months of the season due to shoulder inflammation. Brian Wu September collapsed with a chest injury. He lasted just 4 1/3 innings in the postseason.
Seattle’s rotation leads the league in ERA in 2024. The team’s ranking slipped to 13th last season. With Miller dealing with his elbow injury without surgery and Wu returning to full health in the offseason, next season’s rotation should once again be among the best in the league. This unit will be key to the team’s return to the playoffs in 2026.
