Guardians opening series got a little easier thanks to latest Mariners injury 

Last August Bryce Miller showed the Cleveland Guardians exactly how good he can be. On the final day of August last year, Miller toed the rubber for the Mariners and put together the best start of his season when he allowed two runs across six innings in Seattle’s 4-2 win. 

It wasn’t the greatest start in the world, but it was the perfect kind of rebound start for a Seattle team that had dropped the first two games of its series against Cleveland. 

But it looks like the Guardians won’t get a chance to get some revenge on Miller at the start of the season, as Miller seems set to start the season on the injured list thanks to an oblique injury that’s limited him this spring. 

While the Mariners still have a loaded starting rotation, any injury to Miller would still be a fairly big blow given how good he can be when he’s healthy. 

Mariners starter Bryce Miller won’t be available in opening series against Guardians 

Although the 5.98 ERA that Famrer posted last season is fairly jarring, he had multiple stints on the injured list due to a variety of elbow issues that limited him during the first half of the season.

He ended up getting healthier as the season went on and finished the season with eight straight starts before throwing 14 1/3 innings in the postseason. 

On most teams, Miller would be a No. 1 or No. 2 starter. But for the Mariners he’s arguably their fourth or fifth-best starter behind Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryan Woo. 

But sometimes teams don’t open their season with a rotation led by their top arms based on how the spring ends, so there would still have been a chance that Miller could have pitched against the Guardians at some point in their three-game opening series. 

Pitchers Cooper Criswell and Emerson Hancock stand out as the top two options to replace Miller in Seattle’s pitching rotation, though neither of them are incredibly inspiring options. 

Meanwhile the Guardians’ rotation has stayed healthy this spring and currently have six starters vying for the five spots in the rotation. 

Tanner Bibee seems like the top option to get the ball on Opening Day after acute gastroenteritis ruined his opportunity to do so last year, while Gavin Williams is locked in as the No. 2 starter behind them. 

After them it's a battle between Slade Cecconi, Joey Cantillo, Parker Messick and Logan Allen for the final three spots. 

Last season the Mariners avenged the Guardians’ Wild Card Series loss to the Tigers by taking Detroit out in a thrilling ALDS. Now the Guardians get the honor of opening the season against them in what should be an exciting series even if Miller isn’t able to go.