Miller nearing rehab assignment; Robles begins light activity

SEATTLE -- Bryce Miller is expected to rejoin the Mariners as soon as this weekend in Seattle, though it won’t be as part of an activation from the 15-day injured list.

While Miller works back from left oblique inflammation, the club will fly the right-hander from Arizona -- where he’s been recovering -- to give its big league athletic training staff a closer look at his progression.

Typically, these meetups are an immediate precursor to a Minor League rehab assignment, which could suggest that Miller’s time on the shelf could be pushing more towards an end. His Minors stint is expected to consist of multiple starts to build his workload back to the range of five to six innings and/or 80-90 pitches.

That would likely come at Triple-A Tacoma, which is at home through this weekend, though it’s also possible that he could make an appearance at High-A Everett for travel purposes, as the Aqua Sox are at home the following week when the Rainiers travel to Oklahoma City.

Miller threw a bullpen session on Sunday that went “very well,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Seattle’s series finale of the four-game set vs. Houston on Monday.

“He'll get some more work in while we're in San Diego,” Wilson said, referencing Seattle’s upcoming three-game series at Petco Park, “and hopefully at some point, in the next homestand, he’ll probably be up here and we'll assess from there.”

Miller has been dealing with the issue since his first Cactus League start on Feb. 26, and although he progressed positively by the time the team broke camp, he didn’t yet have the workload built to be considered for the Opening Day roster.

In his stead, Emerson Hancock has filled in formidably -- to the point where the Mariners could have a difficult decision once Miller is healthy.

Hancock has a 2.04 ERA (194 ERA+, where league average is 100) over 17 2/3 innings across three starts. He’s struck out 19 and walked three among the 62 batters he’s faced, while the Mariners are 2-1 in those starts -- the lone loss being a 1-0 defeat against the Angels, when Jo Adell robbed them of three homers.

Update on Victor Robles (right pectoral strain)
The right fielder has begun light baseball activity, but not to the point where he’s truly ramping up.

“Because it's his throwing arm, it's something you have to be careful with,” Wilson said. “And so we're just taking it slowly.”

Robles suffered the injury when throwing to the bases during outfield drills before last Tuesday’s loss at Texas.

“I don't know how definite the timeline is at this point,” Wilson said. “It's just a matter of how he's going to respond, but he's continuing to do what he can. And it's going to be the throwing that's going to be the part that comes the slowest.”