Mariners do the right thing and get Bryce Miller signed for 2026

The Seattle Mariners have agreed terms on Bryce Miller’s contract for the 2026 season, with the deal also including a club option for 2027.

The Mariners have got their man! As announced by Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander on Tuesday, Bryce Miller has agreed terms for the 2026 season.

Miller was the only one of the Mariners’ seven arbitration-eligible players who had not agreed a deal prior to the initial deadline on Jan. 9. At the time it was reported that he’d filed for $2.625 million and the organization had responded by offering $2.25 million.

With a difference of just $375,00 we had suggested just splitting the difference and settling at $2.4375 million. Well, according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times the two sides have done just that, with the amount not much more than the $2.4 million the righty was projected to receive ahead of arbitration.

As per Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors, the club option for 2027 is worth $6.075 million and with a buyout of $15,000. The options will be voided if Miller finishes in the top five in 2026 Cy Young voting, but irrespective he will still be controllable via arbitration through 2029.

A rough 2025 regular season for Bryce Miller

In this respect, it will be interesting to see what version of Miller the Mariners get in 2026, with him coming off an extremely challenging 2025 campaign. He set a whole host of career worsts during his third year in the majors, including a 5.68 ERA, 5.17 FIP, 1.406 WHIP and rough -0.8 bWAR.

This was in stark contrast to 2024, when the 2021 fourth round draft pick led a quality Mariners rotation with a 3.4 bWAR and was second with a 2.94 ERA and 126 ERA+. In addition he produced a career-low 0.976 WHIP, to establish himself as an underrated and invaluable pitcher in Seattle.

In fairness to Miller, in 2025 he continually struggled with right elbow issues dating back to the end of the previous year. He endured two stretches on the injured list and was limited to 18 regular season starts one year after appearing in 31 games.

We spoke to Mariners manager Dan Wilson towards the end of the 2025 regular season about Miler’s struggles. Wilson admirably maintained confidence in the Mount Pleasant, Texas native, as he said:

“Being on the IL and going through all that is difficult, but I think he was able to handle it all so well and find himself back now to where he’s in a good spot.”

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A big boost for the Mariners come playoff time

We admittedly wondered at the time if Miller was actually in a good spot, with him going on to allow five hits, two walks and four earned runs over 4.0 innings in his final regular season start, versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, come playoff time we were more than happy to be proved wrong, as he rebounded tremendously to help an injury-impacted pitching staff.

Previously set to be one of the odd men out among the Mariners rotation in the playoffs, he instead started three games and produced a 2.51 ERA and 1.047 WHIP over 14.1 combined innings. The highlight of this was his stunning performance in Game 1 of the ALCS versus the Toronto Blue Jays, when he allowed just two hits and one run over 6.0 sterling innings in what was ultimately a 3-1 win.

Any concern about Miller’s injury issues will have been alleviated by news in late October by Jude, that he’s no longer expected to need surgery and should be ready to go from the start of the season. The Mariners will continue to quite rightly deal with him cautiously, but fans will now hope that this coming season they will see more of the pitcher who shone so brightly during the 2024 regular season and again during last year’s playoffs.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

 What kind of season are you expecting from Miller in 2026? Are you concerned he will struggle like last year during the regular season, or pitch more like what he showed during the playoffs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.