PEORIA, Ariz. -- Bryce Miller was in the middle of discussing his first mound session in 10 days when Justin Hollander passed by.
“He’s fine!” the Mariners' general manager shouted good-naturedly.
Miller, who’s been dealing with left side oblique inflammation, certainly looked like as much over 15-20 pitches at an exertion of, he estimated, about 80-90%. His fastball velocity was in the 90-94 mph range, his mechanics felt good and he was happy to nerd out on the TrackMan data again.
“Not feeling anything was the main thing,” Miller said. “I want to obviously throw more and like a normal bullpen and throw harder and all that. But I'm just trying to limit the buildup ... and make sure we do it the smart way.”
The next steps for the right-hander will be a full-effort bullpen akin to what he’d throw between starts; then, presumably, work back into Cactus League play and/or a simulated game on the back field. Minor League camp will also begin playing games next week, which could be an option.
If there’s no soreness -- which can be particularly residual with obliques -- the bigger focus will be on building his pitch count to a capable total for his first regular-season start. Presumably, if the Mariners roll him out as their No. 5 starter, that wouldn’t come until March 30 against the Yankees at T-Mobile Park.
That essentially gives Miller three weeks to build his workload to the range of 80-90 pitches and/or five to six innings.
Anything fewer than that could compromise the construction of their pitching staff on the first homestand, as April is the month where bullpens can typically be leaned on more heavily and optioning arms back and forth to the Minors can be cumbersome -- especially given that the Mariners are likely to break camp with multiple relievers that are out of Minor League options.
“They always say, ‘Just try to try your best to make sure it's fully gone, don't try to ramp up too quick,’” Miller said. “You don't want it to linger. I think they are notorious for lingering. So just trying to try to be smart with the initial buildup. And once I get full go, full clearance to let it rip, I'll do that.”
Miller first experienced the issue during his first Cactus start on Feb. 26, after which he underwent imaging that revealed inflammation then received a platelet-rich plasma injection. Hollander classified it as “something he usually goes through when he first starts to ramp up for camp.”
Robles (right shoulder) back in lineup
Outfielder Victor Robles returned to the batter’s box on Sunday for the first time in Cactus play since last Sunday, having dealt with soreness in his throwing shoulder recently. He was eased in at designated hitter but could return to the outfield soon.
“Nothing major,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Just kind of some fatigue in his shoulder, so letting that kind of rest and calm down a little bit.”
It’s the same shoulder that Robles fractured last April 6 when diving into the netting in San Francisco, after which he missed four and a half months before returning for Seattle’s push for the American League West title.