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The Padres are taking a fascinating approach to the trade deadline, prioritizing controllable players for 2026 and beyond while still trying to win in 2025. The first shoe dropped on Thursday morning.
San Diego agreed to a blockbuster deal with the Athletics to acquire closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears, sending top prospect Leo De Vries and four players in total to the A's.
The deal could signal a trade for pending free agent closer Robert Suarez, who was an All-Star this season and a focal point of the Padres' bullpen since 2022. Miller, meanwhile, was a sensation as a rookie with the A's in 2024 and continues to flash otherworldly stuff even if control issues have gotten him into some trouble this season.
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Here's how the Padres and Athletics did in Thursday's blockbuster deal.
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Mason Miller trade grades
Padres grade: C-
- Padres receive: CL Mason Miller, SP JP Sears
The Padres are a better team today because they have Miller and Sears, a potentially dominant reliever, and a durable but unspectacular starter, respectively. That doesn't necessarily make this deal worthwhile.
The price on relievers is sky-high at this deadline, but at what point do we say there is a limit to what a pitcher who covers three outs about three or four times a week is worth? Is any reliever worth De Vries, who still has a long way to go in his development but has the tools to become a franchise cornerstone?
The appeal of Miller is clear: his stuff is some of the nastiest in baseball, and he's under contract at a low cost through 2029. The Padres are cautious about spending after the death of owner Peter Seidler, and having a potentially dominant reliever locked in on a cheap deal for more than four years is valuable. Sears is under contract through 2028, so he has some value as well, even if the results have been middling to this point in his career.
Still, for a talent like De Vries and two highly-touted pitching prospects in Braden Nett and Henry Baez, in addition to Eduarniel Nunez, it certainly seems like a team would want more than just a reliever and a low-end starter, regardless of who that reliever is.
A championship would make the trade worthwhile, but even if the Padres go all in on 2025, it's hard to say Miller will be the difference when San Diego's bullpen was already so dominant. In a crowded NL, the Padres clearly have more work to do to beat out the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Cubs and Brewers, who are all ahead in the standings.
If this move was more about sustainability in 2026 and beyond, what's more sustainable than developing a potential star in De Vries and two pitchers who could make an MLB impact within a year in Nett and Baez? The door is open for the Padres to win this trade because a championship is still on the table in 2025 — they are still only 4.5 games off of the best record in baseball — but the risk is extreme.
MORE MLB: What to know about Mariners trading for 3B Eugenio Suarez
Athletics grade: A
- Athletics receive: INF Leo De Vries, P Braden Nett, P Henry Baez, P Eduarniel Nunez
"This team won't trade this player unless they are blown away by an offer" is such a repeated line at every trade deadline that it's typically worth ignoring, but this was likely one case in which a team was blown away by an offer.
Miller has the stuff to be one of the best closers in baseball, even if his current ERA doesn't reflect that, but the haul the A's received for him was too strong to pass up for a franchise that relies on restocking its farm system to compete.
De Vries has star potential. Any 18-year-old prospect is high-risk, and his minor league numbers don't jump off the page, but the mere fact De Vries can be a plus hitter in Advanced-A ball at his age is fairly astounding. The A's have also shown an ability to develop hitters and develop them quickly, with Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz both making quick rises to the MLB level. Landing a talent like De Vries for a closer is a clear win.
MORE: What to know about Phillies' deal to land Twins closer Jhoan Duran
The pitchers in the deal can't be overlooked, either. Nett ranked as the Padres' No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, with a 3.39 ERA across 17 starts in Double-A this season. Once an undrafted free agent, Nett could profile more as a reliever with his control issues but offers high upside even at age 23. Baez, 22, doesn't necessarily miss bats at an impressive rate, but he has a sparkling 1.96 ERA across 20 Double-A starts this season and has improved year-by-year since joining the Padres organization.
The odds of at least one of Nett and Baez exceeding the value of Sears, who is ideally just a durable back-end starter, are high. Nunez is 26, so his upside is limited, but he has already seen MLB action and gives the A's a controllable, MLB-ready relief option.
The A's aren't better today because they traded Miller, but there's little doubt the four players they received upgrade the franchise's outlook in the years ahead.
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