Bobby Miller turned in the worst start of his career against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 9 and was promptly optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City the following day.
The right-hander allowed nine runs and 10 hits in the Dodgers’ 10-1 loss, which sparked some criticism from manager Dave Roberts.
Miller’s poor outing was a continuation of what has been a difficult 2024 season. He missed nearly three months because of right shoulder inflammation, and in between those issues, has gone 1-2 with an 8.07 ERA in seven starts.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Miller’s potential return to the team will be dependent on making progress, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We don’t have a time of when he’s going to come back and start for us. Our hope is – obviously it’s going to be after the break, but I don’t really know when that is. I don’t,” Roberts said.
“My expectation is that there’s progress. But again, I can’t speak to the delivery or where he’s at.”
While there is no timeline for Miller’s return to the big league club, he has been working with the Dodgers’ player development staff in Oklahoma City.
Miller’s biggest issue has been an overall lack of command of any of his pitches. Not only in terms of missing the strike zone, but also leaving too many pitches over the heart of the plate.
Miller was scratched from his last start due to some adductor tightness, which further complicates his return. However, it is not considered to be serious.
Bobby Miller vows to ‘bounce back’
The 2024 season has not been the big leap forward that Miller was hoping for, but he vowed to come back stronger following the awful start against the Phillies.
Miller being able to return would be a huge boost for the Dodgers rotation that has some question marks at the back-end, but the addition of Jack Flaherty takes some pressure off the young right-hander to return to a top-of-the-rotation spot.
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