According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the San Diego Padres are acquiring Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller and left-handed pitcher JP Sears. In exchange, the Padres are trading top infield prospect Leodalis De Vries, and right-handed pitchers Braden Nett, Henry Baez, and Eduarniel Nunez. Miller is well-regarded as one of the top relief pitchers in the sport. This season, the hard-throwing right-hander has posted a 3.76 ERA with a stellar 1.02 WHIP across 38 1/3 innings of work. He has struck out an eye-catching 59 hitters while generating a 42.8% whiff rate. Under the hood, Miller has posted a 2.82 xERA, suggesting he should see significant positive regression during the final months of the season. With the Athletics, he has been deployed as their top closer, as he tallied 20 saves this season and 28 in 2024. However, in San Diego, Miller will pitch alongside ... [More]

The Athletics reportedly told teams earlier this month that closer Mason Miller wouldn't be going anywhere by Thursday's trade deadline. However, that hasn't stopped the Athletics from engaging in discussions about the flamethrowing right-hander with inquiring clubs. The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres have all shown interest in Miller, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It's worth noting that the Phillies (Jhoan Duran) and Mets (Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers) have each traded for high-leverage relievers since Rosenthal's initial report came out. Furthermore, after acquiring Duran, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made it clear that they're done adding relievers. The A's asked Philadelphia for prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter for Miller, per Rosenthal, but that was too rich for the Phillies' blood. The Yankees, meanwhile, would rather add pitching than subtract it. With that in mind, it doesn't seem that they'll match up on a Miller trade with the Athletics. The most intriguing scenario may be Miller to San Diego, which has interest in stretching him out as a starter by next season, Rosenthal writes. Miller made six starts as a rookie in 2023 and has since become one of the game's most electrifying relievers. It's unclear if the Padres and A's have made progress in talks, but Friars president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is making a push for Miller.

Athletics closer Mason Miller notched a four-out save to finish off a 5-2 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday. Miller entered a 5-2 game with two outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth inning, and he put out the fire by getting Jose Altuve to fly out. The 26-year-old retired back-to-back hitters to start the ninth before walking Cam Smith, but he induced a Jon Singleton flyout to nail down an A's win. Miller struck out one and totaled 23 pitches to record his 20th save in 23 tries. While Miller's 3.86 ERA over 37 1/3 innings is significantly higher than the 2.49 mark he put up in 65 frames last year, the right-hander has returned to his dominant form with 10 straight scoreless appearances. With the July 31 trade deadline coming up, the A's have reportedly told teams that Miller isn't going anywhere.

The Athletics have told teams they're wasting their time by even calling, saying that they're not trading closer Mason Miller. There's been a decent amount of buzz around MLB regarding the hard-throwing right-hander for the Athletics for quite some time. With the Athletics firmly out of the AL West race (16 games behind), rumors were speculating about the 26-year-old Miller potentially being traded. The Athletics have made it crystal clear to teams that they are not trading him. Miller's ERA this season isn't ridiculously impressive, at 4.04; however, most people know that his 2.84 xERA paints a better picture of where his numbers should be. His 14.38 K/9 and 101 mph fastball average (100th percentile) is what makes him such a hot commodity. So far this season, Miller has racked up 19 saves in 22 save opportunities. Fantasy managers should expect Miller to remain an Athletic for the foreseeable future.

The Athletics have made it clear to the rest of the league that they have no intention of dealing closer Mason Miller before the July 31 trade deadline, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. It's no surprise that teams have contacted the Athletics about Miller, as the electrifying 26-year-old is among the most valuable relievers in the game when you combine his performance and contract. He's making $765,000 this year and is scheduled to remain under team control through 2029. Instead of trading Miller for a haul, the A's appear content to keep the flamethrowing right-hander. Miller had a rough May in which he yielded 10 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings, but he has otherwise been highly effective. He has converted 19 of 22 saves and is riding a streak of eight straight scoreless appearances. Miller owns a 4.04 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and 57 strikeouts against 17 walks over 35 2/3 innings.

Athletics closer Mason Miller earned his second save in as many days on Sunday, closing out a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Miller allowed just a single and struck out one in his inning of work. The flamethrower had his stuff today, hitting 104 mph on his fastball. While his numbers are a touch inflated this season, it has still been a good sophomore campaign for Miller. He is 19-for-22 in save opportunities, and carries a 4.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 57 strikeouts in 35 IP. A couple of blow-up outings are making those ratios look mediocre, but it is clear that when Miller is on, he is nearly untouchable. He should be regarded as an elite closer for fantasy, albeit on an A's team that won't win a ton of games.

Athletics closer Mason Miller picked up his 18th save of the season on Saturday in his team's 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two and allowing a walk. The 26-year-old right-hander has allowed just one earned run in his last 10 1/3 innings pitched, converting five of six save chances in that stretch. For the season, Miller is 18/21 on save opportunities with a 4.15 ERA, 10.8 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. His 4.15 ERA is a bit inflated due to an abnormally low 64.8% strand rate, but Miller's 2.77 xERA and 28.1% K-BB rate point to how dominant he's truly been.

Athletics closer Mason Miller escaped with his 17th save of the season in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Rays. Miller came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning with no outs and an automatic runner on second. He got the first two outs on a strikeout and a fly-out. He then intentionally walked a batter and allowed both runners to advance on a balk, but shut the door with a strikeout. The 26-year-old has struggled with walks this season and has had some blowup outings. However, he has converted 17 of 20 save opportunities with plenty of strikeouts. Miller now owns a 4.55 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP, a 14.78 K/9 rate, and a 4.55 BB/9 rate in 31 2/3 innings of work. The good news is that he has been trending in the right direction, allowing runs in just one of his last six outings.

Athletics closer Mason Miller picked up his 16th save of the season in Monday's 6-4 win over the Rays. Miller came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two. He got the first out on a strikeout, allowed a single, and ended the game by inducing a groundball double play. The 26-year-old flamethrower has converted all but three of his save opportunities with an elite 14.67 K/9 rate. However, he has had several blowup outings this season and has struggled with walks, leading to a lackluster 4.70 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work. The good news is that he has allowed few hits, so his 1.14 WHIP is still solid despite a 4.40 BB/9 rate. Miller has some of the best strikeout stuff in baseball and has been electric and overall effective throughout his career, so fantasy managers may be wise to look beyond his bloated ERA for now.

Athletics closer Mason Miller finished off a 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday to bank his 15th save. Miller set the Tigers down in order on 16 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning, striking out Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson swinging in the process. The 26-year-old has been surprisingly shaky at times this season, evidenced by his 4.85 ERA in 29 2/3 innings, but has put up a scoreless appearance in seven of nine tries in June. He remains a strikeout machine, having fanned almost 15 hitters per nine, and boasts a 1.15 WHIP.

Athletics reliever Mason Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday's 3-2 win against the Kansas City Royals, notching his fourteenth save of the season. He yielded one hit and struck out two. The former third-round pick was summoned to protect a one-run lead and needed just 12 pitches (nine strikes) to slam the door on Kansas City. It was a nice rebound for him as he'd given up three earned runs in his previous outing on Friday. The 26-year-old has mostly been effective in 2025, notching 21 appearances with one earned run or fewer. However, he was tagged for two, three (twice), and five runs in his other four outings. He sports an inflated 5.33 ERA and 1.26 WHIP across 25 1/3 innings. Miller has six scoreless outings over his last seven appearances.

Athletics right-hander Mason Miller tossed a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Miller struck out two while working around one hit to pick up his 14th save in 16 opportunities on the season. Overall, the veteran closer has a 0-2 record, 5.33 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts over 25 1/3 innings of work. Miller has not allowed a run in six of his past seven appearances, although he coughed up three runs in his last outing. He remains an excellent fantasy closer thanks to his elite strikeout rate.

Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller worked a scoreless ninth inning to preserve his team's 2-1 win on the road in Arlington on Monday night. He walked Marcus Semien to start the frame but then retired the next three batters he faced, including a huge strikeout of Adolis Garcia with the potential tying run in scoring position. Miller has pitched 11 innings in 11 games for the A's this season, compiling a 1.64 ERA, 0.79 FIP, and 0.73 WHIP. He has 22 strikeouts in those 11 innings and has converted all nine of his save opportunities. The Athletics are 15-14 after their win on Monday, and Miller will remain one of baseball's top closers for a vastly improved team moving forward.

Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller was asked to take the mound with a two-run lead on Saturday. The A's didn't have to use too many pitchers in this one with Luis Severino throwing eight innings before handing the ball to Miller. The Brewers didn't put up much of a fight as Miller threw a scoreless inning while striking out two batters to earn his sixth save of the season. Miller has been excellent early in the season and is a must-have in all fantasy formats.

Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller earned his fifth save of the season on Wednesday in a 3-1 win over the White Sox. He pitched a flawless ninth, striking out the side in 12 pitches. He's yet to allow a run through six appearances so far this year and has given up only three hits and one walk compared to 12 strikeouts in the six innings. The flamethrower continues to look like one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball and should get more save chances in 2025 with an improved A's team.

Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller was asked to hold a two-run lead versus the New York Mets on Saturday. The right-hander needed only 15 pitches to finish off this Mets lineup. He gave up a two-out single to Tyrone Taylor, but was able to work around it and record his fourth save of the season. Miller has worked five innings, allowing zero earned runs, three hits, and striking out nine batters. He's an elite closer that should be rostered in all fantasy formats.

Athletics general manager David Forst said this week that right-handed closer Mason Miller will remain in a relief role for the team next year and they are "not talking about moving him back into a starting role." Miller, a third-round pick in 2021 out of Gardner-Webb University, came up through the minors as a starter. When the A's decided to initially use him out of the bullpen when he advanced to the majors, they kept open the idea of returning him to a starting role down the road. It looks like that won't be happening now, and you can't blame the A's after the 26-year-old flamethrower developed into one of the most dominant closers in the game in 2024. In just his second year in the big leagues, Miller made his first All-Star team by posting a 2.49 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, his first 28 career saves, 104 strikeouts and 21 walks in 65 innings. Despite being on the A's, Miller is an elite fantasy closer heading into 2025.

Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller nabbed his 23rd save of the campaign in Wednesday night's win over the hosting Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, working around a hit and a walk in the victory. Miller struck out Reds outfielder Will Benson to seal the Athletics' 9-6 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday, fanning two during a scoreless ninth inning. The hard-throwing 24-year-old right-hander has solidified himself as a franchise cornerstone for the A's and one of the top closers in the game in 2024, accruing a 2.08 ERA and 0.85 WHIP while punching out 86, walking just 18, and converting 23 of his 25 save opportunities over 52 innings.

Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller made things interesting but came away with his 22nd save of the season in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Reds. Miller came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by three. He got the first out on a strikeout, allowed back-to-back singles, and got the second out on an RBI groundout. He then allowed an RBI single and a double but left the tying run stranded at third with another strikeout. This wasn't Miller's finest outing but he has been excellent all season long and hadn't allowed any runs since July 2. The 26-year-old has converted all but two of his save opportunities with a 2.12 ERA, a 14.82 K/9 rate, and a 3.00 BB/9 rate in 51 innings of work.

Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller picked up his 20th save of the season in the team's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Oakland Coliseum. In his inning of work, Miller allowed a hit to rookie outfielder Kameron Misner, walked none and struck out two. The right-handed fireballer threw 14 of his 19 pitches for strikes and reached the 20-save mark for the first time in his career in what has been a breakout 2024 season. The 25-year-old former third-round selection in 2021 out of Gardner-Webb University has only blown two of his save chances as Oakland's full-time closer this year while also posting an excellent 1.85 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB in 48 2/3 innings pitched. The A's had a chance to get several high-end prospects in return for Miller at this year's trade deadline, but they balked at the opportunity and now view Miller as a building block for the future.