Padres trading Mason Miller for a starter could expose real desperation

The Padres traded for one of the most electric arms in the league at last year’s trade deadline, acquiring Mason Miller from the Athletics in exchange for a pool of prospects. The goal here was to provide the team with a suitable replacement for Robert Suarez, who departed in free agency.

On January 9, the Padres and Mason Miller avoided arbitration, agreeing on a $4 million base salary. However, despite being locked in for the near future, the team may try and trade one of the league’s best to fill another need.

Padres could still trade Mason Miller in exchange for a starting pitcher

This didn’t seem possible heading into the winter meetings. But with Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish out of the picture in 2026, the Padres need to revamp their starting rotation ahead of spring training. Already spending a large sum of money to bring back Michael King, President of Baseball Operations, A.J. Preller now only has two more slots to fill.

As it stands, San Diego has Michael King, Nick Pivetta, and Joe Musgrove headlining the first three spots. Randy Vasquez makes a case to be in the back-end of the rotation, but the team is still bargaining for another starter to further solidify the unit.

Unfortunately, this won’t come easy, as the Padres have payroll constraints that may hinder their efforts when it comes to spending top dollar on a starter. A trade would suit the Padres as an alternative, but depending on who they target, it may come at the expense of trading Mason Miller.

In an article released by A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com, Preller mentioned that the key reason the Padres were able to make the playoffs is because of their bullpen depth.

“That’s probably been why we’ve been to the playoffs the last two years,” Preller said. “Lot of reasons, but that’s been a big one, the bullpen.”

Despite these rumors, Cassavell called trading Miller “a tossup,” as the Padres making a trade for a starter is not out of the ordinary. But Miller being included in the package is what raises the questions.

It will be an enticing next couple of weeks across MLB.