With the trade deadline down to 11 days, the White Sox are still sorting out just how hard they want to swing. The needs are obvious: help for the starting rotation, help for the bullpen, and now another opening behind the plate after Kyle Teel’s potentially season-ending injury. That kind of shopping list points toward multiple moves, and a report that Chicago nearly landed Aroldis Chapman before the Red Sox caught fire suggests the Sox may be willing to chase a premium late-inning arm.
That’s where Mason Miller enters the picture.
The Padres’ star closer has been floated as a possible trade candidate, and if San Diego really is open to moving him, Chicago would at least make sense as a team to check in. One New York Daily News insider went further than that earlier this week, posting: “Don’t rule out the White Sox https://t.co/Jupj6JYdzd”
A deal for Miller would be the kind of move that lives more in the dream category than the likely one, but the framework is easy enough to imagine. A proposed package would send RHP Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears to Chicago for IF Caleb Bonemer, LHP Noah Schultz, LHP Ky Bush, and IF William Bergolla Jr.
It’s a huge price, and that’s the point. Miller is viewed as the best closer in baseball, and the numbers back it up.
In 2025, he converted 22 of 26 saves and held opponents to a .139 batting average. This season has been even more ridiculous.
The 27-year-old right-hander enters Wednesday with a 0.86 ERA, a perfect 25-for-25 in save chances, and 78 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. At times, he’s been untouchable.
The bar for a trade like this is already set by what San Diego gave up to get him. The Padres sent top prospect Leodalis De Vries, who is currently MLB Pipeline’s 2nd-overall prospect, to acquire Miller.
He’s a year older now and has one fewer year of control, but he’s also pitching even better than he did last season. That kind of talent doesn’t come cheap.
For the White Sox, the starting point in a theoretical offer would likely be Bonemer, MLB Pipeline’s 16th-ranked prospect. The 20-year-old has already hit 23 home runs and reached Double-A this season after winning Carolina League MVP in 2025. His defensive home is still a question, but the bat is real.
Schultz and Bush would give San Diego two left-handers who could help the big league club quickly, even if both have had their own setbacks in recent years. Bergolla would add another upper-level infield option, bringing a strong hit tool and defensive value.
If Chicago is truly in the Mason Miller market, the cost would sting. Maybe Bonemer wouldn’t have to be included, but it would almost certainly take three or more of the organization’s top 10 prospects. That’s the kind of all-in swing Chris Getz would have to make, and it would instantly give the White Sox a relief group that could be among the best in baseball with Miller, Grant Taylor, and Sean Newcomb.
Will it happen? Probably not.
It would be a shock if Miller ended up in Chicago. But based on the hints out there, the possibility doesn’t seem to be zero.
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