Giants southpaw Erik Miller will be out for several weeks, which should impact their deadline approach.
The San Francisco Giants placed left-handed reliever Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list over the weekend. Miller has been the best southpaw in manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen this season, posting an excellent 1.50 ERA despite concerning strikeout (22) and walk (20) numbers in 30 innings pitched (36 appearances). Miller revealed more specifics about his injury in a conversation with Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Miller told Rubin that an MRI revealed a sprain in his throwing elbow and will keep him from pitching for some time. “The most optimistic timeline to pitch again, Miller thinks, would be five weeks from Monday,” Rubin reported. It’s unclear if Miller’s five-week estimate was simply returning to the mound or rejoining the big-league club. If it will take five weeks for him to pitch again, it would likely be another couple weeks before he was ready to be activated off the injured list.
While Miller (and the Giants) were clearly relieved that his elbow injury will not require surgery, it still remains to be seen if he can be counted on to return at some point this season. With the Giants hoping to
The Giants bullpen currently has two veteran lefties who have been called upon as the organization’s pitching depth has been tested. Joey Lucchesi has been solid across six appearances since his call-up after a promising start to the season at Triple-A. The other southpaw, however, Scott Alexander is rejoining the Giants after he was released by the Rockies and struggled mightily at Triple-A. A contact-oriented pitcher, Alexander may have simply been particularly prone to struggles in the hitter-friendly environments of Coors Field and the Pacific Coast League,
The Giants made a blockbuster trade last month by acquiring Rafael Devers. No one expects them to make another equally massive more prior to the deadline, but general manager Zack Minasian has already hinted that the team expects to be “very active” in the next few weeks. Miller’s injury will obviously play into that calculus.
Even prior to Miller’s injury, the noticeable decline in his walk and strikeout rates from last season created enough question marks to potentially justify adding another lefty to the bullpen. Now, with Miller’s return at least a month away, it seems like the Giants targeting a proven southpaw has moved from a possibility to a necessity.