Mason Miller might be the best pitcher available at the MLB trade deadline. The Padres are, at least, willing to listen.
San Diego is in a strange spot. The Padres are on the fringe of the playoff race but far from a lock, and A.J. Preller is one of the most aggressive front office executives in baseball. Every deadline he shocks somebody. This year he might do it by moving his closer.
Miller is 27 with control and comes with the best arm in the sport. His fastball touches 103. He has been almost unhittable in stretches. When healthy, he can be a legitimate two-inning weapon at the back of a bullpen, which is exactly what a contender wants for the postseason.
The Padres acquired Miller last winter in a splashy trade from Oakland, and now they might flip him. If the front office believes the roster is closer to a rebuild than a contender, moving Miller for two or three real prospects is the aggressive move.
The Yankees and Rays are both looking for bullpen upgrades. New York needs another elite reliever to lock down late innings behind Luke Weaver. Tampa Bay is trying to hold a Wild Card spot and needs to figure out its ninth inning. Both teams have the prospect capital to make an offer.
The Yankees would probably win any bidding war financially. Tampa Bay would win any evaluation battle if the Padres were smart. Preller might just try to play the two off each other to drive the price up.
The wider reliever market is thin. San Diego dealing Miller could be the domino that shakes loose Emmanuel Clase in Cleveland, Ryan Helsley in St. Louis, or Devin Williams in a possible surprise return to Milwaukee. Every contender needs bullpen help every year, and this deadline the supply is not matching the demand.
The other complication for the Padres is roster construction. They spent the entire offseason building around Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill. Moving Miller signals they might be prepared to also move veterans like Michael King or Dylan Cease. That would be a full pivot.
Preller has done full pivots before. He built one of the most expensive rosters in baseball, blew it up, rebuilt it, and repeated the cycle. If the Padres do not make the playoffs, we are probably in for another cycle.
Miller is the crown jewel. Teams that want him should be ready to overpay. The Yankees have been the aggressive team all summer on trade talks. Tampa Bay is quieter but strategic. San Francisco could jump in if Buster Posey wants to make a statement.
Every general manager needs to have a number ready by the end of next week. Preller is going to make somebody blink first.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
