Initially, the Athletics had no intention of even discussing Mason Miller with the San Diego Padres. The A\u2019s were targeting upper-level pitching prospects. In their estimation, the Padres didn\u2019t have enough.<\/p>\n
Padres general manager A.J. Preller asked the A\u2019s to supply the names of pitching prospects they wanted from other clubs, with the idea of acquiring those players to obtain Miller in a multi-team deal, according to sources briefed on the discussions.<\/p>\n
It was typical Preller. Tell him he can\u2019t get a player one way, and he\u2019ll try another. But the A\u2019s did not want to complicate this. If they were going to trade Miller, it was going to be a team they could deal with directly. And the three clubs they identified as most likely to meet their price were the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
All three clubs turned to other options, declining to go to the same lengths the Padres did to acquire Miller for four additional years, sources with each of those teams said.<\/p>\n
The Phillies were unwilling to part with right-hander Andrew Painter, the No. 7 prospect in Keith Law\u2019s latest top 60<\/a>, and traded two other young talents, righty Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait, for Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran.<\/p>\n The Yankees were unwilling to satisfy the A\u2019s request for a package headed by either shortstop George Lombard Jr. (No. 14 on Law\u2019s list) or outfielder Spencer Jones, in addition to young pitching. Instead, they acquired three other relievers, David Bednar, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval.<\/p>\n After the Padres, the A\u2019s viewed the Mets as the most serious about Miller. One source briefed on the Mets\u2019 conversations described the team\u2019s pursuit of Miller as \u201cvery serious,\u201d representing the talks with the A\u2019s as \u201csubstantial.\u201d But the talks failed to advance, and the Mets in the final two days before the deadline acquired two other relievers, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley, after adding Gregory Soto earlier.<\/p>\n How, then, did the Padres come away with Miller?<\/p>\n General manager A.J. Preller cited two factors: The constant communication Padres assistant GM Josh Stein maintained with the Athletics, focusing mostly on left-handed starter JP Sears initially. And the A\u2019s realization that the Padres\u2019 system was strong enough to build an acceptable deal, one that would include Law\u2019s No. 13 prospect, shortstop Leo De Vries, and attractive young pitching as well.<\/p>\n Athletics GM David Forst told reporters, \u201cWhen the Padres suggested they were open to including Leo, that\u2019s kind of when this got serious.\u201d Preller said it was actually the A\u2019s who proposed a deal including De Vries a few days before the deadline, telling the Padres, \u201cHey, if this is something you want to do, this is the structure.\u201d<\/p>\n However it transpired, Preller said the final deal \u2014 De Vries and pitching prospects Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel N\u00fa\u00f1ez for Miller and Sears \u2014 was not a matter of him relentlessly wearing the A\u2019s down.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re never going to badger a team. It\u2019s not like that,\u201d Preller said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about continually being active and checking in and making sure that as we go through what we need to accomplish, Mason Miller was going to be an option, or he wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n As late as the morning of the deadline, the Padres were only offering one of the pitchers with De Vries. But their momentum built throughout the day, with Preller completing five trades in the final seven hours.<\/p>\n Once Preller recognized he could add a catcher (Freddy Fermin), two hitters (Ryan O\u2019Hearn and Ram\u00f3n Laureano), a backup infielder (Will Wagner) and another starting pitcher (Nestor Cortes), he was comfortable parting with De Vries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to go down this path unless we felt we had a chance to be a pretty complete team,\u201d Preller said. \u201cThe last day or so, we were trying to figure out which of the alternatives was the best for us.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to talk about players like Leo and what we think he\u2019s going to be, we needed to make sure we could look at our team as a team that could legitimately be a championship-caliber team. When we got to that point and looked at the totality of the moves, we felt it was something we were more open to.\u201d<\/p>\n Preller started his pursuit of Miller on the outside looking in. He ended, as he often does, willing to go to lengths others would not.<\/p>\n Revisiting the Red Sox<\/p>\n All right, I might have been too harsh when I said on my \u201cFair Territory\u201d show that the Boston Red Sox\u2019s pursuits of Twins right-hander Joe Ryan was \u201cfeeble at best\u201d and that they didn\u2019t \u201ccome at (the Twins) hard.\u201d<\/p>\n “At some point, you’ve got to fire away.”<\/p>\n The Red Sox’s inability to take care of what needed to be done at the trade deadline comes off as an epic fail, says @Ken_Rosenthal<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/4MKbDh5TXK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Still, consider what happened.<\/p>\n The Red Sox did not push for Ryan until the final hour. And though it was later reported<\/a> they made various offers with multiple Top 100 prospects, none of their proposals included a major-league outfielder. And the bottom line is, the Sox did not sufficiently entice the Twins.<\/p>\n In defense of the Sox \u2014 and the Chicago Cubs, another team that failed to land an impact starting pitcher \u2014 very few starters actually were traded. Merrill Kelly, Shane Bieber and Charlie Morton were probably the best ones moved.<\/p>\n The Twins, though, traded with eight teams \u2014 count \u2018em, eight \u2014 in the final four days. They also proved capable of pulling off deals late. Two of their moves \u2014 Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays, Louis Varland and Ty France to the Toronto Blue Jays \u2014 came in the final hour.<\/p>\n If the Twins were going to part with Ryan for three pennant races, it was not unreasonable for them to want one of the Sox\u2019s outfielders, either Jarren Duran (three additional years of control) or Wilyer Abreu (four). And as hot as the Red Sox are, it also would not have been unreasonable for them to make such a deal (the Twins did not even broach the possibility of Roman Anthony).<\/p>\n By trading an outfielder, the Sox could have returned Ceddanne Rafaela from second base to center full-time. They also could have acquired a second baseman to make the return of Rafaela to center more plausible, or added a first baseman and moved Romy Gonzalez to second. Instead, they played a last-minute game of chicken with the Twins. And when the Twins didn\u2019t blink, the Sox were shut out.<\/p>\n Inside the D-Backs\u2019 deadline<\/p>\n Even after trading first baseman Josh Naylor on July 24, the Arizona Diamondbacks were not committed to selling. But after a 1-0 victory in 11 innings over Pittsburgh the next day, the D-Backs lost five straight to the Pirates and Detroit Tigers, scoring a total of five runs. Their streak extended to six games the day after the deadline with a 5-1 loss to the Athletics.<\/p>\n Even if they avoided selling, the Diamondbacks would have been ill-advised to part with the prospects necessary to rebuild their bullpen and contend. So, they ended up trading outfielder Randal Grichuk, third baseman Eugenio Su\u00e1rez and right-hander Merrill Kelly, plus reliever Shelby Miller and lefty Jordan Montgomery.<\/p>\n Most in the industry perceived the return for Kelly as superior to the ones for Naylor and Su\u00e1rez, a reflection, in part, of the price for quality starting pitching. Other factors beyond the D-Backs\u2019 control also contributed to the market for their players being perhaps less robust than they anticipated.<\/p>\n Buyers were distracted by the availability of big names, from those who were traded like Carlos Correa and Mason Miller to those who were not like MacKenzie Gore and Sandy Alcantara. The last-minute decisions by the Twins and San Francisco Giants also increased the supply of available players, hurting the other sellers.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks\u2019 most unusual deal was the one in which they sent two injured pitchers, Shelby Miller and Montgomery, to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named or cash.<\/p>\n Miller is on the injured list with a strained right forearm, but is expected to return sometime in August. Montgomery is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. And rather than acquire talent, the D-Backs chose to save about $2 million, paying down most but not all of Montgomery\u2019s remaining obligation.<\/p>\n The D-Backs floated the idea of making such a deal with Montgomery to a number of clubs, according to sources briefed on their discussions. The Brewers jumped, taking on the additional $2 million in salary. Their decision was not without risk, considering Miller has been out since July 7. But in their view, it was better than trading a prospect.<\/p>\n The math is complicated, but according to FanGraphs\u2019 Jon Becker, the D-Backs, with their trade,s saved roughly $11.8 million in 2025 payroll and another $3 million in \u201826 by escaping Grichuk\u2019s buyout.<\/p>\n Why don\u2019t rental hitters bring better returns?<\/p>\n Assessing deadline trades immediately can be problematic. Most in the industry, however, agree that rental hitters bring underwhelming returns. And they point to the Diamondbacks\u2019 hauls for Naylor and Su\u00e1rez as the latest proof.<\/p>\n Both sluggers went to Seattle without the Mariners yielding any of their top eight prospects, according to MLB.com. That wasn\u2019t necessarily a fail by Arizona. The Mariners possess the game\u2019s top farm system, according to The Athletic\u2019s Keith Law<\/a>. But Su\u00e1rez, in particular, figured to generate a greater haul.<\/p>\n It still could turn out that way. For Su\u00e1rez, the Diamondbacks acquired first baseman Tyler Locklear (the Mariners\u2019 No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), plus minor-league relievers Hunter Cranston (No. 16) and Juan Burgos (No. 17). For Naylor, they acquired pitching prospects Brandyn Garcia (No. 13) and Ashton Izzy (No. 16), with Izzy generating immediate trade interest, according to D-Backs sources.<\/p>\n One reason rental hitters are undervalued is that team needs are so specific. With 13 roster spots for pitchers available, contenders always can find room for an arm. But the only teams interested in Naylor and Su\u00e1rez were those with holes at their respective positions. Thus, the buyers faced little competition.<\/p>\n Another factor: Teams increasingly rely on matchups and can piece together offense with multiple players. A contender might not need the best hitter available at a position, just a platoon partner who fits into their offensive plan.<\/p>\n Finally, for the postseason, clubs clearly value pitching, both starting and relief, more than hitting. And the market is reacting accordingly.<\/p>\n Su\u00e1rez, by the way, went 2-for-17 with a double in his first four games with the Mariners. He has gone 44 at-bats since his last homer.<\/p>\n Around the horn<\/p>\n