A.J. Preller was never going to sit this one out.
You knew the San Diego Padres’ wheeling, dealing general manager was going to have his say, and shock in the process. But this time, the big deal he swung may have hurt his franchise in the long run.
The Padres landed All-Star closer Mason Miller from the Athletics on Thursday, along with lefty starter JP Sears. In exchange, they sent Leodalis De Vries, Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez.
De Vries is the real headliner here. An 18-year-old shortstop who is the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, De Vries earned a $4.2 million signing bonus from the Padres in 2024. He was the top international prospect in his class and has lived up to that billing in the minor leagues. This season at High A, De Vries is slashing .245/.357/.410 with eight home runs, 46 RBIs and a wRC+ of 115. He’s doing that against players who are, on average, four years older than he is. He has “star” written all over him.
Nett is a high-velocity starting pitcher who is the franchise’s No. 3 prospect and appears on the verge of the big leagues. Baez is San Diego’s No. 13 prospect, a righty starter who carries a 1.96 ERA in Double A, and Núñez is a 26-year-old reliever who has debuted after having a big year in the minors.
Miller is an outstanding closer with big-time stuff, including a fastball that averages 101.1 mph. In 38 appearances this season, he is 1–2 with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 59 strikeouts against 18 walks in 38 1/3 innings. He has 20 saves in 23 chances. The 26-year-old will be under control through the 2029 season. Miller also came up as a starter, but a sprained UCL in his elbow led the A’s to put him in the bullpen. Sears also has multiple years of control, but shouldn’t get anyone too excited. The 29-year-old is 7–9 with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP with 97 strikeouts in 111 innings.
The issue here is that the Padres already have one of baseball’s best bullpens and an All-Star closer in Robert Suárez. Yes, Suárez can walk after this season, but there are several players under team control lined up to replace him. They didn’t need another reliever or a backend starter like Sears. The trade doesn’t solve their biggest problem, which is the massive hole in left field and their lack of offense from their catchers. Teamwide, they have a .698 OPS, which ranks 22nd in baseball.
While the deadline hasn’t passed, and more could come of this, Preller has spent his largest chip to strengthen a strength. This is the kind of haul a team gives up for an All-Star hitter with multiple years of control, not a closer who injured himself when he tried to start.
De Vries was arguably San Diego’s best prospect since Fernando Tatís Jr., and trading him is more proof that the future and development simply do not matter to Preller. He can find elite talent in the draft and on the international market, but struggles to let those players mature and join his big league roster. He is constantly in win-now mode, and it could be argued that that attitude has hurt the Padres.
The list of players Preller has traded who have become outstanding big leaguers is long and depressing if you’re a Padres fan. Trea Turner, Max Fried, James Wood, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, David Bednar, Emmanuel Clase, Josh Naylor, Andres Muñoz, Zach Eflin, Xavier Edwards and more have all been dealt in win-now moves. The best the Padres have to show for it is a 4–1 loss to the Phillies in the 2022 NLCS.
It has always felt like when Preller zeroes in on a player he likes, he’ll give up whatever it takes to get him, regardless of the cost. He did that in deals for Juan Soto, Mike Clevinger, Austin Nola and Justin Upton, among others.
Some will suggest the Padres have to be all-in now while Manny Machado and Tatís are in their primes. However, De Vries would likely have been called up in the next two years and could have been the kind of player to create a new long-term core alongside Tatís and Jackson Merrill. Instead, he’ll be playing elsewhere.
Preller is always cooking up something, so it’s likely more deals will come before the deadline. But the move for Miller is more of the same from his front office: Sacrificing future stars in an attempt to get marginally better in the short term.
If the Padres win a World Series, Preller will have been right. If they don’t, the franchise seriously has to consider reworking its philosophy.
