Dodgers option Bobby Miller, who has an 8.07 ERA: ‘I have some work to do’

PHILADELPHIA – The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned right-hander Bobby Miller on Wednesday, a day after the rookie gave up nine runs in what manager Dave Roberts called an “embarrassing” loss.

Nothing has gone right for the 25-year-old this summer. The Dodgers view Miller as a potential cornerstone of the rotation, but he posted an 8.07 ERA through seven starts. He was absent for a few months due to inflammation of his right shoulder. Results hardly improved upon his return, with Miller showing less stuff and velocity in his two most recent starts.

“I’ve got some work to do,” a disappointed Miller said Tuesday night after being defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies. He and Roberts were insistent that Miller’s shoulder was not giving him any trouble, instead citing possible issues with his mechanics.

The solution is not clear.

“You can see it’s having a huge impact on him,” Roberts said. “When I take him out of the game, you can just see the weight and stress he is putting on himself. So I think it would be beneficial to take him out of this environment. He’ll come back, reset, recharge and throw the baseball the way we know he can.”

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Tuesday’s start marked Miller’s final outing before the All-Star break, so the Dodgers opted to bring up reliever Ricky Vanasco to take his spot on the active roster. Barring placing someone on the injured list, the earliest the Dodgers could recall Miller is July 25.

That return date is not confirmed. Miller will report to Los Angeles, where he will work with the Dodgers staff and coaches, including director of minor league pitching Rob Hill. Then, he would join Triple-A Oklahoma City for an uncertain start.

“As I told Bobby last night, I don’t know how long it’s going to take,” Roberts said. “Nobody does. Don’t focus on getting back here. Focus on getting it right.”

Miller entered this season with the option with the highest upside of the Dodgers’ young starting pitching depth. He was fresh off a season where he emerged as the Dodgers’ most reliable pitching option with a credible case to start Game 1 of the postseason series. Since then, his star has faded somewhat. Tuesday started at a lower level.

Optioning him to the minors comes at the expense of the Dodgers’ rotation depth, which has already been depleted. Clayton Kershaw will need to make at least two minor-league rehabilitation starts (including his expected outing Saturday at Oklahoma City) before considering the option of returning. Tyler Glasnow is eligible to come off the injured list on July 24. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is beginning to make throwing progress this week as he works back from a strained rotator cuff.

Then there’s Walker Buehler, who continues to work at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida. He’s throwing out of the bullpen and trying to get himself back into form after posting a 5.84 ERA in his first eight games following a second Tommy John surgery. It’s a rare move, allowing the arm they thought would make their rotation to serve in isolation.

“Where Walker was, he felt like this was really a priority for him,” Roberts said. “It made sense to the organization and there is ongoing communication between us and us.”

Roberts said communication between the facility and Dodgers staff has been “consistent,” but there is no clear timeline for Buehler.

“I can say that progress has been made,” Roberts said. “But I can’t even really speak intelligently about what that progress is. “I really can’t.”

Buehler is apparently on the injured list due to hip inflammation, one of 12 Dodgers pitchers currently shut down before Miller joins the minors. This is not something anyone would have imagined. Nor would anyone have expected the Dodgers to take advantage of their stock of young pitching so quickly. Justin Wrobleski could be in line to participate in Sunday’s finale before the All-Star break. Roberts said Rivers Ryan – a top pitching prospect who is recovering from a shoulder injury and has never topped five innings or 75 pitches in a start – could also be an option after the break.

(Photo of Bobby Miller from July 2: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)