MLB Analyst Takes Clear Stance on Padres Moving Mason Miller to Starting Rotation

San Diego Padres right-handed reliever Mason Miller has been one of the best bullpen arms in baseball over the last few years, and arguably the best since joining the Friars.

The Padres already had a great bullpen before the MLB trade deadline, but after adding the former Athletics closer, it went up another level.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller struck a deal with the A's that revolved around the No. 3 prospect in baseball Leo De Vries heading out along with a package of pitching prospects for Miller.

San Diego, despite having the best bullpen in baseball, got eliminated in the National League Wild Card round, losing two out of three to the Chicago Cubs.

With the season over for the Padres, conversations are underway about the direction of the franchise, including who the team should retain and where players can be optimally deployed.

One of the ideas rumored to be considered for next season is deploying Miller as a starter to maximize the value of the young pitcher. However, MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa believes it's better to keep him in his current role where he's comfortable.

"There's talk about Mason Miller becoming a starter, transitioning to starting pitching like Clay Holmes did this year, which kind of always blows my mind," DeRosa said.

"I'd really like to be in the meeting on that with the analytics guys because you are taking somebody who does something better than everyone else, and you're taking him and asking him to do something else.

"You would go into the season next year knowing you have one of the, if not the best, closers in the game. What if it doesn't work? Then where's Mason Miller?

"Then we're going to transition him back to the bullpen? It is a risk. How about just pitch huge leverage innings? I like the 104 [mph] coming out of the pen."

Miller was used as a starter early on, but he struggled to stay healthy and consistent. As a reliever, he found much more success, and since the Padres acquired him midseason, it made sense to put him in his most comfortable role.

Now with a full offseason in the Padres organization, Miller could get the chance to try and become a starter once again, allowing the organization to extract further value from the trade. De Vries will become an everyday player for the A's at some point, and if San Diego can only use Miller or an inning at a time, the trade could potentially age poorly.

Having a starting pitcher with electric stuff and the ability to go deep into games would help make the trade's value proposition much closer. At the same time, though, the Padres may not want to mess with what's already working.

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