Padres swing major deal to acquire Miller, Sears from A's
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The San Diego Padres have landed two big upgrades to their pitching staff, acquiring closer Mason Miller and starter J.P. Sears from the Athletics, it was announced Thursday.
The Athletics are receiving the No. 3 prospect across MLB, shortstop Leodalis De Vries, along with right-handed pitchers Braden Nett (Padres' No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), Henry Baez (Padres' No. 13) and Eduarniel Nunez (Padres' No. 17), according to Passan.
Miller, 26, was held out of Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners, with reliever Jack Perkins coming on to pitch the top of the ninth to protect a two-run lead. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told reporters that Miller was "unavailable" to pitch in the contest, later clarifying that the decision was not injury-related.
The Pittsburgh native owns the fastest average fastball velocity in all of baseball according to Statcast, clocking in at 101.1 MPH, and has recorded the second-highest strikeout rate among relievers this season.
Currently sporting a 3.76 ERA to go along with a 1.02 WHIP and 59 strikeouts across 38.1 innings pitched, Miller would slide into the back-end of a Padres bullpen headlined by Robert Suarez and Adrian Morejon, that owns the lowest earned run average (2.98) and WHIP (1.16) in the Majors.
Sears has had an inconsistent season across 22 starts, with a 4.95 ERA and 97 strikeouts over 111 innings pitched. He fills in as a back-end rotation piece.
De Vries, 18, is expected to reach the majors by 2027. The top signing in the 2024 international market has an impressive knowledge of the strike zone and has a plus grade in all five tools.