The Oakland Athletics have received an unfortunate update on the injury of one of their best young talents, with Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reporting that Mason Miller has been “diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain.”

“Mason Miller has been diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain after a visit with Dr. Keith Meister. He will resume throwing when asymptomatic and A’s are hopeful he will pitch again this season.”

If anything, at least the door is apparently still open for a potential return to action for Mason Miller before the end of the 2023 MLB regular season. That means his injury is not serious enough to put his future in doubt, a reason for the Athletics to let out a big sigh of relief.

Mason Miller has been one of the few bright spots for the Athletics in this challenging year, so his long-term absence from active duty is another punch to the gut for Oakland, which has won just nine times through its first 43 games of the campaign.

Miller started the year in the minors, pitching for a total of 8.2 innings and allowing just two earned runs on two hits to go with 19 strikeouts. He made his debut in the big leagues in an April start against the Chicago Cubs at home and impressed right away, as he allowed two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings of a 12-2 loss. His best start to date in the majors happened on May 2 against the Seattle Mariners in which he pitched for seven scoreless and hitless innings while striking out six batters, albeit in a 2-1 loss at home.