Dodgers Could Make Surprise Blockbuster Trade for All-Star Closer: Report

Each of the last two seasons, Athletics closer Mason Miller was among the few bright spots in Oakland.

The team was nowhere near the playoff hunt. Miller was blowing 100-mph fastballs past opponents. And while Oakland contemplated its future without a baseball team — a future that became a reality this year — Miller just kept throwing darts.

This season Miller is striking out 13.9 batters per inning, while converting 20 of 23 save opportunities. Though not an American League All-Star for the second consecutive year, he's pitching like one. His average fastball velocity of 101.1, strikeout percentage (39.1) and swing-and-miss rate (42.8 percent) are among the best in MLB.

As contending teams like the Dodgers contemplate what it might take to add Miller to their bullpen, they must also grapple with this reality: the A's have momentum.

At 46-62, the A's will not participate in the 2025 postseason. But they've played a bit better than their 108-game pace of last year (44-64), and far better than they were at this point in 2023 (30-78).

Miller is under team control through the 2029 season. Whether they've relocated from Sacramento to Las Vegas by then might not matter. The A's can realistically expect Miller to be the closer on their next great team if they keep him through Thursday's 3 p.m. PT trade deadline.

As noted by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Miller is earning $765,000 this season, which only makes the A's asking price "figure to be exorbitant." He goes on to list the teams — including the Dodgers — that might have the prospect capital needed to tempt the A's into doing a deal for Miller.

"Which teams might tempt the A’s?" Rosenthal asks. "The Philadelphia Phillies, who reached agreement Sunday with free-agent reliever David Robertson, probably would be No. 1 on the list. The Los Angeles Dodgers, with free agents Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates performing below expectations, almost certainly would be in the mix. So would the New York Yankees, who face the losses of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to free agency."

In other words, the Dodgers will have competition for Miller from all the usual suspects. But their greatest competition might not come from a contending team, but from a rebuilding club in Sacramento that can see the figurative light at the end of the tunnel.