Padres Could Shift Mason Miller to Starting Pitcher

The San Diego Padres traded a massive prospect package to acquire relief pitcher Mason Miller, a true flame-throwing arm.

In the trade, the Padres sent top prospect Leo De Vries, Braden Nett, Henry Baez, and Eduarniel Nunez to the Athletics for Miller and veteran left-hander J.P. Sears.

The price for a relief pitcher is extremely pricey, considering he can only pitch an inning or two in his current usage.

The Padres' move for Miller at such a price made many within MLB question if Miller might enter the rotation as a starter — a role which has much more value and makes the deal understandable.

When the righty was drafted, he broke into the league as a starter, though the A's moved him into the bullpen.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller was open to the idea of using Miller different.

"It's nice to have four-plus years with Mason Miller," Preller told MLB.com's A.J. Cassavell.

"He's a guy that brings a lot to the table, and we'll continue to see what's the best [way] for him to impact the Padres as we go."

"Adding to a strength ... it's also about getting impact performers.

"Mason's an A-lane performer, one of the best in the world at what he does. Like we've seen so far through the first 100 games, we have an opportunity to shorten the game. You want to take that."

This season, Miller has a 3.66 ERA through 39.1 innings pitched. His WAR sits at 1.0, though he gets plenty of swings and misses. He made his first appearance for the Padres Friday night, tossing one scoreless frame.

His strikeout rate is an impressive 39.1 percent. Miller's fastball clocks in at 101.2 mph, one of the hardest throwing arms in the game.

He can afford to take some speed off his heater if it means having him pitch longer through games, but for the short-term future, he will likely join one of the best bullpens in the game.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.