Padres' Role for Mason Miller Revealed By Team Insider

After their trade deadline moves on Thursday, the San Diego Padres have put together the strongest bullpen in MLB.

San Diego has been battling to hold on to one of the NL Wild Card spots and are only three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. But their bolstered bullpen could push the Friars past the Dodgers and through a deep postseason run.

With the addition of closer Mason Miller from the Athletics, the Padres have two closers they can lean on. Miller is a 2024 National League All-Star, and two-time NL All-Star Robert Suarez leads all of MLB with 30 saves.

The Padres reportedly plan to keep Suarez as their primary closer and use Miller as “powerful arm in a variety of high-leverage situations,” per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin. San Diego will also now be able to give their relievers more frequent rests to preserve their arms through October.

“Like we’ve seen so far through the first 100 games, if we have an opportunity to shorten the game, you want to take that,” said Padres general manager AJ Preller. “I think also it gives Mike (Shildt) an opportunity to mix and match with the ’pen, an opportunity certain nights to be able to go to one set of relievers and give guys an opportunity to get a little bit of a rest and a blow and be fresh for, hopefully, what’s a long run here for the rest of the regular season and into the postseason.”

In addition to strengthening their bullpen, the Padres were able to deepen their rotation and kept starting pitcher Dylan Cease. Along with Miller, the Athletics traded starting pitcher JP Sears to the Padres, and the Milwaukee Brewers traded All-Star starting pitcher Nestor Cortes.

Acquiring Miller and Sears will certainly help San Diego through the postseason this year. But in the process of landing the pitching pair, the Padres lost their No. 1 overall prospect Leo De Vries.

San Diego has been criticized for their history of trading top prospects, especially after sending their No. 1 overall prospect from 2021 and 2025 All-Star starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Washington Nationals in 2022.

Preller said trading De Vries was a difficult decision but the organization ultimately felt like Miller and Sears were worthy enough to make the trade. 

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