10:26am: San Diego can also be sending minor league righties Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Nunez to the A’s within the commerce, per Passan.
10:03am: The Padres and A’s are in settlement on a commerce sending star nearer Mason Miller and left-hander JP Sears to San Diego, reviews Jeff Passan of ESPN. High prospect Leo De Vries headlines a four-player return for the A’s, Passan provides. They’ll additionally obtain three yet-unnamed pitchers.
It’ll go down as one of many extra gorgeous trades of the 2025 deadline. Miller is among the sport’s most extremely regarded relievers — an All-Star and fourth-place finisher in American League Rookie of the 12 months voting simply final season. He’s managed for an additional 4 years past the present season. De Vries, in the meantime, at the moment sits because the No. 5 prospect in your entire sport on Baseball America’s newest rankings.
It additionally units the stage for a good bit of different dealing from the Padres, who’ve been discussing present nearer Robert Suarez and righty Dylan Stop in commerce talks. Both or each may change palms now in trades that concurrently internet youthful expertise and unlock payroll area for San Diego to pursue upgrades in left subject, behind the plate and/or on the bench. Each Miller and Sears are nonetheless of their pre-arbitration years and thus incomes simply over the league minimal.
The addition of Miller strengthens what was already a powerhouse San Diego bullpen (although, as talked about, may set the stage for a Suarez commerce as properly). San Diego relievers have pitched to an MLB-best 2.97 earned run common on the season and rank fifth with a collective 24.1% strikeout fee.
Miller, regardless of carrying a reasonably pedestrian 3.76 ERA, will present a large improve. Nearly all of his bother this 12 months got here in a tough month from early Might to early June. He’s rattled off 14 innings of one-run ball with 18 strikeouts and 4 walks since June 15 and, after all, was probably the most dominant bullpen arms within the sport a 12 months in the past. Miller has pitched 136 2/3 massive league innings and carries a 3.16 ERA with a superlative 37.3% strikeout fee and 10.2% stroll fee. He’s saved 48 video games and tallied one maintain in his profession to this point and has blown solely six alternatives.
Actually, the instruments are there for Miller’s bottom-line outcomes to align with the easiest arms within the sport. Nobody in baseball throws more durable than his common 101.1 mph four-seamer, and Miller’s 20.4% swinging-strike fee trails solely Josh Hader and Fernando Cruz for the highest mark amongst pitchers with even 10 innings pitched this season. Relationship again to 2024, he’s fanned almost 41% of his opponents and stored his stroll fee beneath 10%. Even in an period the place energy arsenals with premium bat-missing capability appear to proliferate the game, the 6’5″ Miller stands above the remaining in a tier almost unto himself.
Add in that Miller just isn’t but arbitration-eligible — although he will likely be this winter — and is managed for 4 extra seasons, and the asking worth on the right-hander was understandably exorbitant. The Padres have repeatedly rebuffed groups who’ve come calling for De Vries or high catching prospect Ethan Salas, however San Diego finally relented to be able to purchase four-plus seasons of arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever and Sears — a good back-of-the-rotation arm who can assist solidify the employees for three-plus years in his personal proper.
Sears, 29, got here to the A’s alongside Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina within the commerce sending Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees. He’s the one one of many pitchers (on both aspect of the deal) that has held up and not using a main damage.
Whereas Sears is a pure back-end starter, he’s been a sturdy supply of aggressive innings for the A’s. The 5’11” southpaw began 32 video games in each 2023 and 2024, and he’s taken the mound 22 occasions in 2025. This 12 months’s 4.95 ERA is a career-high, although like teammate Luis Severino, extra of these struggles have come at residence in what’s proving to be a hitter-friendly setting at West Sacramento’s Sutter Well being Park. Sears has a 5.48 ERA and has allowed 14 homers in 47 2/3 innings at residence, in comparison with a 4.55 mark and 9 round-trippers in 63 1/3 innings on the highway.
Over Sears’ previous 464 innings with the A’s, the lefty has labored to a mixed 4.58 ERA. He’s fanned 20.1% of his opponents in that point and stored his stroll fee to a robust 6.7%. Sears sits 92.2 mph on his four-seamer and {couples} that pitch with a slider that sits 79.5 mph and a changeup that’s averaging 83.4 mph this 12 months. He’s averaging simply over 5 innings per begin.
Extra to come back.
