Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller gets back on the mound as injury rehab progresses

PEORIA, Ariz. — For most average folks, throwing 91 mph would be either impossible or require maximum effort that could not be repeated.

For Bryce Miller on Tuesday, throwing 91 mph was “flipping it in there.”

“These, they’re boring for me because I’m just flipping it in there, but take it slow, be smart with it,” Miller said. “But everything felt really good.”

That last part is the most important part of Miller’s comments because it hasn’t felt really good of late. It was six days ago that Miller’s sore left oblique caused him to cut short what was scheduled to be a full bullpen session after just a handful of pitches. The setback from last week assured that Miller will start the season out of the rotation and likely on the injured list as he’ll run out of time in the process of building back up before opening day arrives.

But what Miller showed on Tuesday was a step forward. He threw around 30 pitches with the last handful being thrown using a lighter 4-ounce baseball. Miller said he threw at around 80% effort with the plan to do the whole routine again three days from now and try and elevate the effort incrementally — 90% next time, and then if all goes well, a full out bullpen early next week.

“We kind of talked in there, I told them I want to be able to have like a max effort bullpen where I’m ripping everything and not feel anything before I see hitters,” Miller said. “Just so I cannot have it in my mind about if I re-tweak it or feel it at all. So, yeah, hopefully that’s a week or less away and can see hitters soon.”

The Mariners have the benefit of time and a little bit of depth right now so Miller doesn’t to be rushed back into action. The spring performances from Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell give the M’s some cushion where one or both could end up starting in the short-term while Miller continues his recovery.

In the most optimistic of timelines and with no setbacks, the earliest Miller would see any hitters is likely toward the end of next week around the time of the opener in Seattle against the Guardians. The buildup from there would take some time as well to get his pitch count to the point the M’s would feel he’s ready to be used in a game.

“It’s just a matter of seeing that strength continuing to come back for him and so I think it’ll be another step forward for him, and a step closer to getting back full-time,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said before Miller’s bullpen. “But we’ll just have to see how it goes. I mean, it really is a kind of wait and see how he feels when he’s throwing but the progression has been good.”

Miller threw his entire array of pitches off the mound during Tuesday’s session, including breaking pitches for the first time since the oblique problem first emerged. Adding some pitches at the end using the lighter baseball allowed him to keep his arm speed up without needing extra effort.

“Since I haven’t been able to really pull down and get the arm speed where it was in game, I’m able to throw the four ounce and keep the arm used to moving fast, but not having to put any extra effort in with the oblique or anything. So that’s fun,” Miller said.

Naylor returns

Josh Naylor was back in camp on Tuesday following Canada’s elimination from the World Baseball Classic. Naylor was originally in the lineup for the split-squad game in Peoria against the Padres, but the lineup was later changed and Naylor got the day to acclimate back to being at spring training. Naylor went through a full pregame routine that included hitting on the field.

Also back at camp was Hall of Famer Edgar Martínez after he served as the hitting coach for Puerto Rico during the tournament.

Time changes

As of now, only two Mariners game times this week are being changed because of the record heat wave hitting all of Arizona. Friday’s game in Goodyear against the Guardians was moved from 1 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. PT and Saturday’s game in Peoria against the Cubs was moved to 6:10 p.m. PT.

High temperatures in the Phoenix area are forecast to hit triple digits on Wednesday and climb as high as 106 degrees by Friday and Saturday.