The Dodgers activated Bobby Miller from the 60-day injured list on September 5, giving the right-hander a place back on the active roster after a season spent mostly away. Kyle Hurt was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move, while Alek Thomas was designated for assignment.
For Miller, the timing matters because his first appearance back will be his 2026 debut. It would also be his third game in the big leagues since Opening Day 2024, a reminder of how little he has been able to pitch in the majors since a promising start. He once looked like one of the more highly regarded pitching prospects in the game, then followed a rookie season with a 3.76 ERA over 22 starts and 124 1/3 innings with a rougher stretch that included shoulder problems and an 8.52 ERA in 56 innings in 2024.
The struggles did not stop there. In 2025, Miller logged just five innings of 12.60 ERA ball in the majors and also posted a 5.66 ERA with a 14.9% walk rate in the minors, though he did strike out 20.3% of hitters there. The Dodgers eventually moved him to the bullpen in the second half of that season, then shelved him again when shoulder soreness surfaced this spring. He spent the rest of the Dodgers' season on the 60-day injured list before returning to Triple-A action at the start of August.
His work there offered a mixed picture. In Albuquerque, Miller had a 3.86 ERA over seven appearances and 14 games, with a 7.3% walk rate and a 30.9% strikeout rate. He also began leaning more on his curveball while throwing his slider much less often, a sign that the Dodgers were still searching for a version of him that could get through hitters more efficiently. That is the same reason his return carries weight now: the club has needed extra pitching help with Eric Lauer and Roki Sasaki on the 15-day IL and Shohei Ohtani still not pitching.
What the move does not answer is how the Dodgers plan to use him immediately. Miller is back on the roster and available, but the club has not said whether he will return as a starter, a reliever or a multi-inning arm in his first game back. Dave Roberts said Justin Wrobleski would work as at least a bulk pitcher on Sunday and that a starter would be called up for Monday's game, so Miller's role will be judged in the context of a staff that still needs innings more than it needs labels.
