The Padres made a splash at last season’s trade deadline, landing one of the most electric arms in baseball: Mason Miller. The flamethrower came over from Oakland in exchange for a package of prospects, stepping into a bullpen that had just lost Robert Suarez to free agency.
The idea was simple-replace elite with elite. And so far, Miller has lived up to the billing.
Fast forward to January 9, and the Padres and Miller have settled on a $4 million salary to avoid arbitration. That’s a solid number for a reliever with Miller’s upside-triple-digit heat, nasty offspeed stuff, and the kind of late-game presence that can shut the door on any lineup. But even with that deal in place, his future in San Diego isn’t exactly set in stone.
Here’s where things get interesting.
The Padres are still in the market for starting pitching. With Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish no longer in the picture for 2026, there are holes in the rotation that need patching-fast.
Michael King is back in the fold, and he’ll likely anchor the staff alongside Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove. Randy Vasquez could round out the back end, but that leaves one more spot, and San Diego wants it filled with a reliable arm before spring training rolls around.
The challenge? Money.
The Padres have already committed significant dollars to King, and with payroll constraints tightening the margins, making a splash in free agency might not be feasible. That opens the door for a trade-and that’s where Mason Miller’s name re-enters the conversation.
Trading Miller would be a bold move. He’s not just a hard thrower-he’s a difference-maker.
The kind of bullpen weapon that can tilt a playoff series. But if the Padres believe they’re a frontline starter away from serious contention, they might be willing to part with a premium piece to get it done.
And Miller, for all his value, could be the chip that gets them over the line.
Team president A.J. Preller has made it clear that bullpen depth has been one of the cornerstones of San Diego’s recent postseason success.
“That’s probably been why we’ve been to the playoffs the last two years,” Preller said in a recent interview. “Lot of reasons, but that’s been a big one-the bullpen.”
That’s what makes this situation so tricky. On one hand, the Padres know what they have in Miller: a shutdown reliever capable of anchoring the back end of games. On the other, they’ve got a rotation that still feels one arm short, and the trade market might be their best shot at addressing it.
Whether Miller ends up being part of a deal remains to be seen. According to reports, it’s still a “tossup.” The Padres making a move for a starter isn’t surprising-it’s who they might be willing to give up that’s raising eyebrows.
One thing’s for sure: with spring training on the horizon and rosters still shifting, the next few weeks could be pivotal for San Diego. Stay tuned-this storyline is far from over.