The Milwaukee Brewers came out of the trade deadline with Dustin May and Jojo Romero, but the more aggressive swing they briefly considered was a lot louder than that.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Milwaukee’s front office “toyed” with the idea of making a blockbuster run at San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller after missing out on Tarik Skubal. Passan wrote, "While Milwaukee toyed with the idea of paying an obscene price to get the best closer in the world, Mason Miller, from San Diego, it wound up a very Brewers-like deadline,".
That Skubal miss appears to have pushed the Brewers to at least explore a different kind of splash. Instead of landing the Tigers left-hander, Milwaukee pivoted to smaller additions, with May making a solid debut and Romero giving the club a left-handed bullpen arm.
Miller would have been the opposite of a modest pickup. The 27-year-old has been electric this season, posting a 0.74 ERA with 2.9 bWAR, 28 saves and 90 strikeouts across 48.1 innings. He’s also controlled through 2029, which makes him the kind of high-end piece a team can dream on in a major deal.
The catch, of course, was the cost. A move for Miller would have required a massive return, and Passan noted the Brewers were looking at an “obscene price” to land him. Even then, the fit may have been complicated by the fact that the Padres ended up buying at the deadline, which could have taken Miller off the board anyway.
For Milwaukee, the deadline ultimately settled into a familiar shape: useful additions, a missed headline grab, and at least a brief look at a much wilder path.
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