SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Erik Miller knows the numbers can be misleading.

Before Miller sustained a left elbow strain in early July, the left-hander had a pristine 1.50 ERA over 30 innings. At the time of his injury, that was the fifth-lowest mark in the majors. But unlike Randy Rodríguez, Miller wasn’t exactly making a bid at the Midsummer Classic.

Miller’s FIP, or fielding independent pitching, was 3.97. Translation: He wasn’t pitching as well as his ERA indicated. Among all relievers who threw at least 30 innings last season, Miller’s -2.47 discrepancy between his ERA and his FIP was the highest in the majors. His strikeouts were down. His walks were up. And, as he admits, there was luck involved.

The combination of his left elbow strain and poor underlying metrics made for an odd, if not underwhelming, sophomore season. And with the bullpen poised to be a legitimate weakness following injuries and trades, the Giants will need Miller to exhibit the form he showed as a rookie.

“If you look at some of the deeper stuff, you can see that there’s a lot of luck involved, a lot of expected numbers are higher than what I actually put out there because guys picked me up, which is a testament to how good our bullpen was,” Miller said. “The guys were consistently coming in and stranding my runners and stuff.

“But, I’m not looking at it like it was bad. … Overall, it was good. I just think there were some things I wasn’t doing quite as well as the previous year — not as many strikeouts, a little bit more walks. It’s all just a learning process.”

The 28-year-old Miller made his first appearance of Cactus League play in the Giants’ 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday evening after dealing with lower back tightness, striking out three straight batters following a leadoff single. For Miller, the exhibition marked his first time appearing in a game since Aug. 15, 2025, with Triple-A Sacramento.

While Opening Night against the New York Yankees is less than two weeks away, Miller believes he will be ready in time for the start of the season.

“It feels like it’s been a long time, for sure,” Miller said. “It feels good to get back out there and get the nerves out of the way. I always say if you’re not nervous to pitch, you probably shouldn’t.”

Returning to game action wasn’t a linear path for Miller.

Miller’s last appearance in the majors was on July 2 before he sustained a left elbow sprain. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 8 but felt something after his fourth outing on Aug. 15 and was shut down for two weeks. He threw a bullpen at Oracle Park in mid-September, but he didn’t pitch another inning for the Giants down the stretch.

“I’m not going to say it’s anybody’s fault, but overall, it was just really annoying,” Miller said. “You’re thinking you’re going to get there, then you have to go back to the start. Elbows, shoulders, all that stuff is just really finicky. But I’m not worried about it this year. I really think it was more of a one-off thing.”

The backend of the Giants’ bullpen has undergone significant changes since Miller’s last major league appearance. Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers have since been traded to the Yankees and Mets, respectively, while Rodríguez underwent Tommy John surgery that will keep him out this season. Without those three arms, San Francisco’s bullpen projects to be a legitimate weakness.

San Francisco’s front office didn’t invest much financial capital into their bullpen despite the bevy of available options in free agency. They added left-hander Sam Hentges and right-handers Jason Foley and Rowan Wick, but none of those three will be on the Opening Day roster for varying reasons.

There have also been a couple of injuries in camp that have impacted the Giants’ bullpen competition. Right-hander Joel Peguero, who had a 2.42 ERA and 3.85 FIP over 22 1/3 innings as a rookie, sustained a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, while left-hander Reiver Sanmartin suffered a right hip flexor strain and will miss up to three months.

Ryan Walker will likely be the closer, but the Giants’ bullpen hierarchy aside from the cross-firing right-hander is up in the air. Manager Tony Vitello said San Francisco’s bullpen situation will “be a little bit fluid,” and the absence of established roles makes Vitello’s transition to the pro game all the more difficult.

Miller becoming a legitimate late-game option, then, would be a boon for the Giants’ rookie manager.

“I think he could do a variety of things, whether it’s just attacking left-handed hitters or a pocket of guys you think he’s a good matchup for — it’s not like he hasn’t had success against hitters from both sides of the plate,” Vitello said. “When you get into the eighth or ninth inning and you’re looking for somebody to finish the game, experience has a lot to do with it.”

Miller said he doesn’t have a preference for when he throws, but added that “every guy obviously wants to throw as late as they can in a game.” The left-hander said he would be up for closing if asked, but quickly added he has “a ton of faith” in Walker.

Whether Miller consistently gets opportunities to pitch late in games will be contingent on his regaining his ability to stack strikeouts.

In 2024, Miller had a strikeout rate of 30.6 percent as a rookie, well above the league-wide average for relievers of 23.4 percent. Last season, by contrast, Miller’s strikeout rate plummeted to 17.2 percent, well below league average. What’s odd about the dropoff in strikeouts is that Miller’s whiff rates were almost exactly same as a rookie and a sophomore.

Miller partially attributes the drop in strikeouts to pitch sequencing, noting that he would get ahead in counts only to lose that count leverage. He also believes the sinker he reintroduced into his repertoire played a factor since it’s more of a contact pitch against left-handed hitters than a bat-misser.

“The stuff is still there,” Miller said. “Indicators show I can have that super high strikeout rate again. I just have to do a better job.”

If Miller can once again turn his high-end stuff into high strikeout rates, the later leverage innings might be a tad easier for Vitello to navigate.

Birdsong provides short update

Right-hander Hayden Birdsong declined to speak at length when asked about his right elbow soreness, but expressed hope that the injury would only sideline him for a couple of weeks before returning to the mound.

“But you never know,” Birdsong said. “Arms are weird.”

Birdsong, 24, said he felt the injury pop up when he threw a curveball during his outing on Tuesday afternoon against the Cleveland Guardians. The right-hander’s elbow had not bothered him before Tuesday.