Mason Miller’s future gets a notable update ahead of the trade deadline

Miller Time in San Diego will not be ending any time soon.

San Diego Padres GM AJ Preller spoke with reporters over the weekend. During the media call, Preller was asked if the team would consider trading star reliever Mason Miller ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline if they continued to struggle.

“[Since] we made the deal last year, he’s performed as good as you could want somebody to perform,” replied Preller. “We made the deal with the intention that Mason is gonna be here for a long time. He’s done an unbelievable job, and our intent is still the same as when we made the deal last year.”

The righty Miller, 27, is seen as the consensus best reliever in baseball right now. A two-time MLB All-Star, Miller regularly hits triple digits on the radar gun and has also been pulling off some historically absurd accomplishments this season (over which he owns a miniscule 0.96 ERA with 69 strikeouts through 36 appearances and an MLB-leading 23 saves).

It was indeed just last year as well when the Padres acquired Miller via trade. They got Miller from the Athletics in exchange for a big haul of prospects, but he has been worth the price of admission and even more.

With San Diego floundering this season at 47-48 though (4.5 games out of an NL Wild Card spot), fans have been speculating that they could potentially opt to trade Miller. While Miller is in fact the single most valuable asset on the Padres’ roster right now, the team is clearly still looking at the bigger picture with Miller remaining under club control through 2029.