Another significant contributor will miss time in Padres camp this spring to participate in the World Baseball Classic.
Reliever Mason Miller will pitch for Team USA, joining a growing list that will see a handful of Padres leave Craig Stammen’s first spring training as manager to represent their country in the quadrennial tournament. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado will play for the Dominican Republic and Xander Bogaerts will play for the Netherlands. Nick Pivetta could also pitch for Team Canada, which he was scheduled to do in 2023 before withdrawing after an “illness” set him back in early in Red Sox camp that spring.
Machado has played in the two previous World Baseball Classics and Bogaerts has played for the Netherlands three times. Meantime, both Tatis and Miller will be playing in the tournament for the first time.
Tatis’ PED suspension made him ineligible in 2023, while Miller did not debut until 2023 and had not yet established himself as a star.
He’s since done just that, representing the Athletics in the All-Star Game in 2024, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting that year and posting a 2.81 ERA through the first three years in the majors. That includes posting an 0.77 ERA while working primarily as a set-up man after last summer’s trade from Sacramento to San Diego.
Miller, 27, struck out 45 against 10 walks in 23⅓ innings, threw an immaculate inning for the Padres over the summer and struck out eight over 2⅔ scoreless innings in the NL Wild Card Series.
With Robert Suarez leaving as a free agent, Miller is expected to serve as the Padres closer in 2026.