(Justine Willard/Athletics via Getty Images)
The San Diego Padres are turning a position of strength into a position of dominance.
Despite already having three All-Star relievers and a bullpen that easily leads MLB with a 2.97 ERA, the Padres swung a blockbuster deal for Athletics closer Mason Miller on Thursday at the MLB trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Starter J.P. Sears is also heading to the Padres in the deal. San Diego reportedly paid a steep price to acquire Miller. The Padres reportedly gave up shortstop Leodalis De Vries in the trade, per Passan. De Vries entered the 2025 season as a consensus top-20 prospect in the game. The Athletics are also reportedly receiving pitchers Braden Nett, Henry Báez and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez in the deal.
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De Vries, 18, is hitting .245/.357/.410 in 368 plate appearances in the minors this season. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 3 prospect in baseball, and likely to be No. 2 soon once Cincinnati Reds starter Chase Burns graduates.
Miller is under team control through the 2029 season, making this much more than just a rental.
Rumors of a trade intensified Wednesday night, when Miller did not pitch the ninth inning for the A’s during a one-run win. Following the 5-4 victory, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Miller was unavailable to pitch and it wasn’t due to an injury. Now fans know why that was the case.
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Few relievers are as feared as Miller, who throws the hardest of any pitcher in MLB with a fastball averaging 101.1 mph and has topped out at 104.1 mph. Since making his MLB debut in 2023, he has blown hitter after hitter away with that heat and his wipeout slider, against which batters are slugging .111 this season.
Miller hasn’t been completely dominant this season, as evidenced by his 3.76 ERA, but he has stuff you can’t teach.
The Padres bullpen is headlined by closer Robert Suarez and set-up men Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón, all three of whom were named to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. It was the first time a team had ever sent three relievers to the same All-Star Game, and now they’re adding a guy with better raw stuff than any of them.
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It’s unclear what role Miller will fill in San Diego. When it comes to deciding a closer, he is certainly the biggest name of the newly formed quartet for most fans, but incumbency and surface-level numbers are mostly on Suarez’s side. Regardless, it’s a good problem to have.
That “problem” could be solved if the Padres decide to trade Suarez. Despite the team’s success, it’s been rumored Suarez could be available at the deadline. The Miller trade makes it easier for the Padres to part with Suarez now, though the team could also opt to deploy a super bullpen the rest of the way.
Trading Miller is a significant sign for the A’s given his age and four years of team control left after this season. The team has been navigating a delicate situation all year, trying to stay respectable enough while they play in a minor league ballpark while building with an eye toward a future in Las Vegas, where they are theoretically lined up to debut in 2028 (assuming there are no hiccups with the funding and construction of their new stadium).
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To trade Miller, the kind of reliever who draws eyes and social media followers every time he takes the mound, is an odd move for a team that really wants to be competitive as it’s settling into its new home. The counterargument is De Vries could help that effort even more than an elite reliever, but it’s a big bet. Which is apt, given the team’s destination.
