The Padres spent deadline week doing the opposite of what many around the league expected. Instead of stripping the roster down, San Diego added pieces and kept Mason Miller in the fold.
That decision mattered because Miller was the name that kept popping up in trade chatter. As the biggest chip the Padres could potentially move, he drew real interest, and the club did have conversations with other teams. But the asking price was steep enough that San Diego never crossed the line into a deal.
After the deadline passed, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller addressed just how far those talks went on a conference call with reporters.
"With any one of our players, it's a very clear bar. We're gonna listen at all times to any conversation that a team wants to bring up," Preller said.
"Ultimately, it's a high bar for all of our players, and I think for us, we had to be in a spot where you're going to be open to, 'How do you improve the team and the organization? What's the best path?'
"So you're always going to look to do that, but at the end of the day, this was the path that we went down. Not gonna get into, 'Hey were were super close here or there'.
I've seen different reports about offers and rejections. Most of the time those aren't accurate, actually, but all I know is that there was a ton of dialogue."
That fits Preller’s track record. He has long carried the reputation of a front office boss willing to make just about any player available if the return makes sense, and his answer after the deadline didn’t do anything to change that view.
Miller, for his part, said before the deadline that he never felt like he was truly on the block, even if he understood the business side of things.
“I never felt like I was actively being shopped,” Miller said. “If somebody wanted to make a big offer, I know A.J. would listen. But I know that he likes me and values me here, given what he gave up to get me here last year and the success I’ve had here as well.”
On the field, Miller has been exactly the kind of arm that makes a team think twice before moving him. The right-hander has posted a 0.76 ERA in 45 appearances, making him the best bullpen arm in baseball this season.
Keeping him gives San Diego a real weapon for the stretch run, especially after Preller also added Casey Mize and Robbie Ray to bolster the starting rotation and create more depth. The Padres now have more flexibility on the mound than they did before the deadline.
Miller could still become a trade candidate in the offseason, when more clubs are able to join the bidding. For now, though, he stays put, and the Padres move ahead with their eyes on a second-half push and a possible postseason run.
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