Bobby Miller's latest meltdown could be nail in coffin for his Dodgers career

Los Angeles Dodgers v Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Dodgers v Philadelphia Phillies | Mitchell Leff/GettyImages

For all of the starters and relievers the Dodgers have been cycling through the major league pitching staff, they've avoided one like the plague lately. Bobby Miller has been promoted twice so far this season, once on April 16 against the Rockies and again on May 24 against the Mets. He started the first game but was only entrusted with a two-inning relief appearance in the second, and he got knocked around in both.

Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski have both gotten more time in the majors than Miller, and Wrobleski was just recalled for the third time this year on June 6, when he put up a pretty decent start against the Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Miller has made 11 appearances (10 starts) in Triple-A for a 5.69 ERA, and his latest start on Tuesday was biblically terrible. He pitched 3 1/3 innings against the Albuquerque Isotopes and gave up 10 earned runs on 11 hits and three walks while only striking out a single hitter.

The Dodgers might get desperate enough to call Miller up again for a long relief appearance sometime in the near future, but they should probably put that off for as long as they possibly can.

Bobby Miller had the worst start of his career in Triple-A and his Dodgers future isn't looking bright

The Dodgers probably wouldn't have that much trouble finding a trade partner if they do deal him — there are a lot of desperate teams out there who could be convinced that they can fix him — but his value has sunken into a deep, dark hole, and it'd be hard for the Dodgers to get more than a halfway decent reliever and maybe a couple of unranked prospects for him.

A trade sometime this year, whether it's around the deadline or in the offseason, seems all but inevitable at this point. Even if the Dodgers give him a couple more tries this season, when any of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and Tony Gonsolin can return to the mound, Miller will turn into even more of an afterthought than he already is.

It's a pretty devastating fall from grace for a former top prospect who showed a lot of promise in his debut season, but the Dodgers clearly don't know where to go from here. Better that they cut their losses and deal him before things get even worse (if that's even possible).