While they haven't officially said it yet, it's fairly obvious that the Seattle Mariners will be without starting pitcher Bryce Miller at the beginning of the season. Miller has appeared in only one Cactus League game and has thrown only one bullpen in the last three weeks or so because of left oblique discomfort.

The Mariners certainly won't rush things and will give him time to get ready before thrusting him into the rotation, and they are now left with a decision about how they'll handle his fifth spot in the rotation at the outset.

There are seemingly two choices: Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell.

Let's dive in.

The former first-round pick from Georgia has looked great this spring, pitching to a 4.76 ERA in 11.1 innings. Most encouraging? His velocity is up in these shorter outings and he's struck out 17 batters in those 11.1 frames. He's started 28 games for the Mariners over the last two seasons and certainly has familiarity with being the team's injury replacement.

Acquired this offseason from the New York Mets, the big righty started 18 games for the 2024 Boston Red Sox. This spring, he's also looked great, pitching to a 1.74 ERA over 10.1 innings. He doesn't throw as hard as Hancock, usually sitting in the upper-80s to low-90s, but he has a solid sinker and a good array of offspeed pitches. He's struck out 10 against just two walks.

I've said this a million times this offseason, and it constantly bears repeating: The roster inflexibility on this pitching staff is a real thing that will influence decisions.

Let's start with the bullpen, where Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier, Jose Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo and Carlos Vargas are each out of minor league options/won't be optioned.

That leaves six spots in your bullpen that are completely inflexible. Remember the Casey Legumina-Tayler Saucedo-Jackson Kowar bullpen roulette that we saw last season? It doesn't exist for those guys, meaning that the organization doesn't have any ability to send someone down who is struggling or overtaxed (without the risk of losing them).

Thus, those last two spots in the bullpen? You'd like the ability to do that. It looks as if the team will carry Legumina on the roster at the start, marking a seventh bullpen arm that is out of options. Criswell is out of options also, so do you really want to have all eight spots in the bullpen completely inflexible, especially early in the season when no one is really prepared to be overworked?

I'm not saying that Criswell is better than Hancock, but his roster issues make him a better fit in the rotation, at least to me. If Criswell starts in the rotation, then that No. 8 spot can go to someone who has the ability to be sent up and down.

That could be Hancock, who could serve in a long-relief role and then go back to Triple-A when Miller is ready. But if you want him to stay stretched out for the next emergency situation, then he can start in Triple-A and someone like Cole Wilcox can fill spot No. 8.

We talked more about this on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast.

Opening Day is March 26.

Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!