PHILADELPHIA —
The Dodgers starting rotation lost another pitcher on Wednesday.
This time, the subtraction was intentional.
A day after getting rocked for nine runs by the Philadelphia Phillies, in what was the latest clunker of a disappointing 2024 season, right-hander Bobby Miller was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers announced.
After missing more than two months with a shoulder injury, and posting a 1-2 record and 8.07 ERA in the seven starts he did make this year, the Dodgers decided it was already time for last year’s rookie star to get a reset.
Even amid a wave of starting pitching injuries, Miller’s continued failures forced the club’s hand.
Miller’s demotion might not last long.
He wasn’t scheduled to pitch again before next week’s All-Star break (meaning the Dodgers can carry an extra reliever in the meantime, calling up Ricky Vanasco in a corresponding move Wednesday). And though he’ll miss at least one start coming out of the break, he can be called back up as soon as July 25 (and possibly sooner, if someone else on the Dodgers’ pitching staff goes on the injured list in the meantime).
Still, for a pitcher who was supposed to be a “big piece of the puzzle” in the Dodgers’ pitching plans this year, as manager Dave Roberts put it early in the season, the need for such a drastic move now reflects the depths of the struggles Miller had endured — including a drop of velocity on his fastball, lack of consistency with his secondary weapons, and inability to avoid big innings like the three-run second or six-run fourth that doomed his start in Philadelphia on Tuesday.