San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller has a big decision to make within the next three weeks. At 48-48, his club hit the All-Star break in third place in the National League West, 12.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Padres are just 3.5 games back in the NL Wild Card standings.
Should Preller raise the white flag and hold a fire sale before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, San Diego closer Mason Miller will be one of the hottest commodities on the market. Among the teams looking for bullpen reinforcements for the stretch run is the New York Yankees.
Miller, who's in Philadelphia this week thanks to his second All-Star selection, acknowledged -- and almost appreciated -- the trade deadline rumor mill.
“The rumors are what they are,” Miller said Monday, according to the New York Post's Mark S. Sanchez. “The Yankees are a good team, and they’re obviously a team that is going to add most years. I think it’s just a compliment in a way that good teams are interested in good players.”
The biggest obstacle to a Padres-Yankees trade could be what San Diego expects in return for Miller, who leads the National League with 25 saves this season. The 27-year-old is under team control through the 2029 season, according to Spotrac. So New York could have to ship multiple top-10 prospects, including at least one in the top 100 overall, to bring Miller to the Bronx.
But for now, all the right-hander can do is play the waiting game.
“It’s kind of fruitless to worry about something three weeks away, four weeks away, whatever it ends up being,” Miller said, per Sanchez. “Ultimately, it’s out of your hands.”
FanGraphs gives the Padres a 12.1% chance of making the playoffs, which means it should be an interesting ride for Miller leading up to the trade deadline.