The San Diego Padres are in the middle of a genuine slide, and when Preller's teams start slipping, the trade rumors don't stay quiet for long. San Diego has gone 3-9 since June 27, and that stretch is exactly why executives around the league are suddenly talking about Mason Miller again, this time as a guy who could be dealt instead of chased.
The Padres have been cold lately. Does that mean they're becoming sellers? And does that mean it's Miller time? https://t.co/TqtZMRHTGg https://t.co/0MplCTnOb5
It's a wild turn given the price Preller paid for Miller in the first place. San Diego acquired the flame-throwing closer from Oakland last summer in a deal headlined by Leo De Vries, who was MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect at the time, along with lefty J.P. Sears. That's not a rental price. That's a package you pay when you think a guy anchors your bullpen for years.
And on the mound, Miller has been every bit worth it. He made the All-Star team this season and has been dealing all year, sitting at 2-1 with 22 saves, a 0.98 ERA and 67 strikeouts across 36.2 innings. He avoided arbitration this winter on a $4 million deal and, as a Super Two player, still has 3 more arbitration years left before free agency, meaning San Diego controls him cheap for a while yet if it wants to.
That's the tension driving the story. San Diego sits at 46-46, roughly 14 games back of the Dodgers with a postseason probability hovering around 12%, according to FanGraphs. A team that far outside the race with a controllable, dominant, cost-effective closer is exactly the kind of team that gets calls at the deadline, whether it wants them or not.
Less than one year after shocking the baseball world with his trade for Mason Miller, could A.J. Preller do it again and trade the Padres' All-Star closer away? Rival executives weigh in: https://t.co/LRW4tc3jQz
The executives Feinsand talked to aren't exactly predicting a Miller trade is imminent. The general read is that Preller wouldn't move him unless the Padres truly fall out of contention, and even then, rival evaluators doubt San Diego could recoup anything close to the De Vries-level return it gave up to get him. Still, the fact that people are seriously entertaining the idea again, less than a calendar year after the trade, tells you how quickly a cold stretch can flip the narrative in this league.
Nothing forces Preller's hand yet, but this is the guy who's made a habit of aggressive, headline-grabbing moves at the deadline, for better or worse. If the Padres keep losing, the question stops being hypothetical fast, and Miller becomes the biggest name on the board.