Padres' Mason Miller blockbuster reflects soaring cost of MLB bullpen arms race

New York Times

a day ago

SAN DIEGO — Extracted at considerable cost from the major-league outpost of West Sacramento, Calif., Mason Miller debuted for the Padres wearing a number that recalled one of the biggest trade deadline deals ever.
'Well, 19 was my A's number,' Miller, the former Athletics closer, said late Friday at Petco Park. 'Obviously, that doesn't play here.'
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Miller had settled on 22, the date two Octobers ago when he married his wife, Jordan. Maybe it was fitting that it happened to be the same number still worn by a certain New York Mets star; the weekend would mark the third anniversary of outfielder Juan Soto's acquisition by San Diego.
At the same time, Miller's imposing presence served as a reminder of two other not-so-distant blockbusters.
Nine summers ago, the Chicago Cubs sent a four-player package led by top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres to a retooling New York Yankees team in exchange for a few months with 6-foot-4 closer Aroldis Chapman. It was less than a week later that the Yankees shipped 6-foot-7 setup man Andrew Miller to Cleveland, receiving top outfield prospect Clint Frazier and touted pitching prospect Justus Sheffield as part of the return. That fall, Chapman and Andrew Miller took down many of the highest-leverage innings for their respective clubs in the 2016 World Series.
Soon, Mason Miller might have a similar opportunity. The Padres paid a steep price — top shortstop prospect Leo De Vries and pitching prospects Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez — to add the 6-foot-5 right-hander and his four-plus years of club control to a league-leading bullpen that already featured three All-Stars. Team officials believe Miller can someday return to being a starter, a role he briefly held as a rookie, but general manager A.J. Preller's latest deadline blockbuster was about, more than anything, the immediate future.
'He's a super talented pitcher,' Preller said, 'and I think … the focus now is, go do his job that he's been so good at doing in the bullpen and help us win a championship.'
It's a decidedly modern vision. Hours before the deadline, the Padres entered Thursday needing a left fielder, a catcher and, they could have argued, another reliever. They ended up getting all of that plus a bit more. Yet, despite Miller's ninth-inning experience, they did not move the likely expiring contract of closer Robert Suarez. And they reserved their heaviest spending for what has traditionally been deemed the sport's most fungible asset.
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They were not alone. As teams loaded up for another October with an expanded postseason, relievers ruled the deadline like never before. The Mets dealt a total of eight prospects to three teams for Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto. The crosstown Yankees, through equally voluminous transactions, landed Camilo Doval, David Bednar and Jake Bird. In the eyes of some scouts, the Philadelphia Phillies forked over a pair of top-100 prospects for Jhoan Duran.
But it was Miller, one of 10 current or former closers traded in a weeklong span, who commanded the largest return. De Vries has a case as the highest-ranked prospect ever dealt for a reliever. More modest evaluations of the teenager, who might not stay at shortstop, still project rare upside.
That potential convinced the A's to surrender the sport's hardest thrower. After encountering resistance in their pursuit of Miller, Preller and assistant general manager Josh Stein put their own previously off-limits player up for discussion.
'It took a player the caliber of De Vries to get our attention and get us to the negotiating table. … In Mason's case, we knew it was going to take something special,' A's general manager David Forst told reporters after the trade deadline. 'When the Padres suggested they were open to including Leo, that's kind of when this got serious.'
The Padres gave up more talent for Miller than they did for Josh Hader in 2022, or for Jason Adam and Tanner Scott in 2024. Adam has remained this season as a member of manager Mike Shildt's 'Four Horsemen' — Suarez, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada also have been among the National League's most effective relievers — and Miller's arrival should amplify a preexisting strength. The 2024 American League All-Star is not expected to immediately supplant Suarez, the major-league saves leader; for now, Shildt has even more options for any number of high-leverage innings.
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'We added to our stable,' Shildt said.
'If you get a lead in the first inning, it's like the other team's going to start panicking because they know what we have in the back end,' first baseman and outfielder Gavin Sheets said. '(Infielder Jake Cronenworth) and I were joking … can you imagine seeing Mason Miller getting loose in the fifth inning if you're on the other team?'
'If we have an opportunity to shorten the game,' Preller said, 'you want to take that.'
The entire sport has increasingly sought out those opportunities.
October, in particular, is the domain of the bullpen. In 2017, big-league relievers combined to log more than 300 playoff innings for the first time. They have since reached that threshold every year except 2019. In 2020, when there were 28-man rosters during a pandemic-shortened campaign, relievers worked more than 50 percent of all postseason innings. They did so again last October. Much of that came from an injury-riddled Los Angeles Dodgers club; at one point, the eventual champions cobbled together 24 consecutive scoreless innings to close out the National League Division Series.
With that defeat still in mind, the Padres this weekend provided glimpses of a potential playoff strategy. Miller, following starter Nick Pivetta in Friday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, debuted with a scoreless eighth inning. He hit 102.8 mph with his second fastball, matching Andrés Muñoz for San Diego's hardest pitch since at least 2008. Miller gave way to Suarez in the ninth. The incumbent closer soon secured his 31st save of the year.
Sunday, less than 48 hours later, Dylan Cease supplied five scoreless innings before leaving with a two-run lead. Shildt summoned Adam, the All-Star setup man, to pitch in the sixth for just the second time this season. After a 1-2-3 inning, the manager turned to Estrada in the top of the seventh. The right-hander with the explosive fastball struck out the side on 10 pitches. In the bullpen, Miller began to warm up for a potential appearance in the eighth.
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Then, the Padres' newly lengthened lineup erupted for four runs. Miller sat down. Rookie David Morgan entered the game and, like Estrada, struck out three consecutive batters. Morejon took the mound in the ninth and had an uncharacteristic outing; the Cardinals loaded the bases and scored twice. Suddenly, the situation called for a save. Suarez, Morejon's fellow All-Star, came in and allowed one inherited runner to score. He stranded the rest to send the Padres to a 7-3 win, their seventh victory in eight games.
Preller's latest avalanche of trades had resulted in a palpable boost.
'I love that about A.J. (Preller). We're all-in,' Adam said amid another series of sellout crowds. 'We're trying to win. And I think that's what these fans deserve. … We want to win a World Series for them.'
In 2025, this is what all-in looks like: another possibly exorbitant, potentially historic blockbuster — except with a reliever as the prize.