Dodgers' Bobby Miller Optioned After Loss to Phillies; LA's Former No. 2 Prospect

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Wednesday that starting pitcher Bobby Miller has been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City after he was crushed by the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, giving up nine runs, 10 hits and two home runs in just four innings in a 10-1 loss for the team.

Miller, 25, was previously considered the club's No. 2 overall prospect by MLB.com.

The Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher Ricky Vanasco in a corresponding move.

Miller's stint in Triple-A might be short, but he's certainly struggled at the MLB level this season. After going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 119 strikeouts in 124.1 innings (22 starts) last year, he's seen his ERA balloon up to 8.07 and his WHIP go up to 1.83.

He's already given up seven homers on the season. Two of them came last night.

Last season in total, he gave up 12.

After such a promising start to his MLB career in 2023, his regression this year has come as something of a surprise:

It's come at a rough time for the Dodgers, who have pitchers Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Emmet Sheehan all on the injured list. Shohei Ohtani also isn't available to pitch this season, though he obviously remains a major factor at designated hitter.

There are MLB teams that don't have as good of a rotation overall as the Dodgers have among their injured pitchers. Having to face the dangerous Phillies—who recently saw Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber return from injuries of their own—didn't offer the patchwork rotation much respite.

Granted, the Dodgers remain 55-37, a cool 7.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres in the NL West. And with the All-Star Game approaching, the team will at least get a nice break and potentially some arms healthy yet again. They need all the help they can get.