Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller is expected to draw no shortage of interest ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The A's don't have much interest in moving the 25-year-old flame-thrower, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles have been mentioned as possible landing destinations for Miller. Unless they make an “outrageous offer,” which is something that Bowden wrote, it appears unlikely that a deal will come to fruition.
The Dodgers are known for adding pitching help despite their depth. Los Angeles clearly values pitching depth. Meanwhile, the Orioles are competitive once again but they would love to upgrade their roster to catch the New York Yankees in the American League East.
The Athletics are in last place in the American League West and are going to sell ahead of the deadline. There are other players on the roster who are expected to be available. Although Oakland may listen on Miller trade offers, the A's are seemingly not looking to trade the talented closer despite the Dodgers and Orioles' potential interest.
Mason Miller: MLB's next star closer
It is not a great time to be a fan of the Athletics. The team is in the middle of a massive rebuild, while they are set to move from Oakland in the near-future. However, Mason Miller provides Athletics fans with a source of excitement.
Miller displayed signs of promise in 2023 after pitching to a respectable 3.78 ERA across 10 games. He started six of those contests, but the Athletics decided to turn him into a full-time closer in 2024.
The decision has paid off to say the least.
Miller currently has a sparkling 2.12 ERA and 12 saves. The Athletics do not win much so he is not going to lead the league in saves. Still, Oakland always has a tremendous chance of earning a victory when leading in the 9th inning as a result of Miller's presence.
Miller lights up the radar gun. He already has 55 strikeouts in just 29.2 innings pitched. He has emerged as a superstar in just his second big league campaign.
The Athletics do not have any motivation to deal him away right now. Miller still has multiple years of team control remaining and the A's can build their bullpen around him.
What if the Athletics trade Miller to Dodgers, Orioles or another team?
In order to acquire Miller, teams need to be prepared to deal away some of their top prospects. The closer will not hit free agency for a while, so the Athletics do not have any trade urgency.
Of course, Oakland understands that capitalizing on his trade value may serve as a way to speed up their rebuilding efforts. Oakland could realistically acquire multiple top prospects in 2024 by trading Mason Miller.
The Dodgers and Orioles are especially interesting because they feature enough prospect capital to make a deal happen. There are other contenders with a decent amount of prospect capital as well.
With all of that being said, Miller will probably end up remaining in Oakland past the 2024 trade deadline. As we have learned over the years, though, anything can happen in July.
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