The Padres are running out of time to decide what kind of team they want to be.
After Monday’s 8-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego sits two games under .500, has dropped to 1-5 this month, and is suddenly staring at a trade deadline that could define the rest of its season. The club is 4.5 games back of the final National League wild card spot and 15 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, with under a month left before the Aug. 3 deadline.
That’s the backdrop for a debate that sounds wild on its face: should the Padres trade Mason Miller?
It’s not an easy question, especially with San Diego owning an elite bullpen and the best closer in baseball. But the rest of the roster hasn’t held up.
The offense has been a major disappointment, and the starting rotation has been described as thin and underwhelming. Even with one game separating the Padres and Diamondbacks in this four-game set before the All-Star break, the current group doesn’t look close to being a true contender.
Former MLB general manager and current analyst Steve Phillips thinks San Diego has to be aggressive, even if that means moving its star closer.
“If the Padres think they’re in it and they’re going to go for it…they need starting pitching and offense,” Phillips said Monday on MLB Now. “Their surplus is bullpen and Mason Miller is the biggest chip that they have - there’s a team in the Bronx that would desperately give up what it would take to get him.”
He also pointed to the possibility of shifting the back end of the bullpen if Miller were dealt.
“[The Padres] could move [Adrian] Morejon to closer or [Jeremiah] Estrada to closer. I’m telling you right now, the Padres have to do that if they want to try and get back into it this year.”
Phillips’ take didn’t land with everyone on the set. Al Leiter, who pitched 19 MLB seasons, pushed back hard and compared the idea to a Yankees move that never happened.
“He also doesn’t become a free agent until ’29,” Leiter countered. “I would not trade him. There is nothing more demoralizing than having a two- or three-run lead and you blow it in the ninth.”
Phillips didn’t budge, arguing that a dominant closer matters less than fixing the innings that come before the ninth.
MLB insider Jon Heyman, who hosted the discussion, sided with Leiter and said the idea “was nuts,” even while noting he likes Warren and Jones as players.
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The complication is just as obvious. Dealing within the NL West is never simple, especially when the target is coming off a strong season and comes with years of team control still attached. ESPNs Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan have both suggested there is at least a real chance this gets done before the deadline, but for the Padres the harder part may be turning interest into something the Giants would actually accept. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Could Face A Brutal Deadline Call On Reliable Starter
The Padres are still shopping for rotation help as the deadline approaches, and the need is easy to understand. Injuries have thinned the staff and the depth behind the front end has not offered much cushion, so San Diego is casting a wide net for a starter who can take the ball regularly and steady things over the stretch run.
One name that has surfaced is Michael Wacha, a familiar arm with a track record of giving a club dependable innings and a contract that runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. Any move of that sort would come down to price as much as fit, especially with San Diego trying to balance urgency against the cost of adding another established starter. [Read more 🡒]