The Mariners on Tuesday reached a deal with right-handed pitcher Bryce Miller on a one-year contract for 2026 with a club option for ’27, avoiding arbitration.
Miller will earn $2.4375 million in 2026, with a $6.075 million club option for ’27 ($15,000 buyout), a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, so he’s guaranteed $2.4525 million. Miller had filed for $2.625 million, while Seattle had filed at $2.25 million, so the deal is the midpoint between the two.
If Miller places in the top five of American League Cy Young Award voting this season, the club option would be voided, per a source.
The signing of Miller means the Mariners have agreed to terms with all seven of their arbitration-eligible players. Outfielder Randy Arozarena, right-handers Matt Brash, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, infielder/outfielder Luke Raley and left-hander Gabe Speier each agreed to contracts Jan. 8, avoiding arbitration.
Miller, 27, made 18 regular-season starts for the Mariners last year, going 4-6 with a 5.68 ERA in 90 1/3 innings pitched. He was on the injured list twice with right elbow inflammation (once from May 14-31 and again from June 10-Aug. 19), but he posted a 2.51 ERA over 14 1/3 innings in the postseason.
Miller was outstanding during the 2024 season, going 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 180 1/3 innings. He struck out 171 batters and walked only 45, and he became the fourth Mariners pitcher to have a sub-3.00 ERA in a season in which he recorded at least 162 innings, joining Félix Hernández (2009-10, ’14), Randy Johnson (1995, ’97) and Hisashi Iwakuma (2013). He has since been joined by teammate Bryan Woo, who had a 2.94 ERA over 186 2/3 innings in ’25.
Miller was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M. He made his Major League debut on May 2, 2023, at the Athletics, setting the Mariners’ record for most strikeouts in a MLB debut with 10. He’s 24-21 with a 4.01 ERA, 105 walks and 364 strikeouts over 402 career innings in the Major Leagues.
