Buyers and sellers have already begun to emerge for the MLB trade deadline that is just about seven weeks away. One team who will almost surely be looking to ship off players is the Oakland Athletics. The A's are 26-44 on the year and have the fourth-worst record in the league. With them not being near contention, some of their best players like closer Mason Miller could become available. If Miller does get shopped, a contender like the Baltimore Orioles could be the one to trade for him.

The A's won't trade Miller for a bag of beans. He's only 25 years old and already one of the best closers in the game. He has converted 12 of 13 save opportunities this year and has 2.4 ERA and 0.87 WHIP to boot along with nasty stuff. The Orioles are in the market for bullpen help according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Jim Bowden.

Baltimore has plenty of trade ammunition to work with as well. Their farm system is perhaps the best in the league with too many top-notch prospects to even play. If they want Miller, the Orioles can make a trade happen. The question is what would the deal be? Perhaps it could look something like this:

Trade offer

The Athletics trade Mason Miller to the Orioles for Heston Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Why the Orioles do it

Baltimore's bullpen is not exactly a weak point of their roster. Almost all of its members have performed exceptionally well all year long, especially closer Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel is enjoying a bit of a bounceback year. His 2.59 ERA and 0.945 WHIP this season is the lowest it's been since the 2021 campaign.

But, he has already blown three saves this year and has not always been reliable in recent years. Kimbrel gave up two leads late in the playoffs last season with the Philadelphia Phillies in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Philadelphia lost this series and those two games Kimbrel squandered were a big reason why.

He's having a great season so far, but Baltimore can't afford to rely solely on Kimbrel to close games consistently. Miller would be an upgrade and wouldn't cost the Orioles any of their primary contributors. Kjerstad is ripping up the minor leagues but he can't crack Baltimore's starting lineup with how loaded their outfield is.

Kjerstad would be the crown jewel of this trade for Oakland and Bradfield Jr. would be the extra push to make the deal happen. It's a strong offer by the Orioles that would be hard for the A's to turn down.

Why the Athletics do it

Oakland isn't going to compete any time soon, so why not add more prospects to their farm system? Both Kjerstad and Bradfield Jr. ranked in the top 64 of Keith Law's top 100 prospects in February. Kjerstad has posted a ridiculous .307/.387/.529/.915 slashing line during his three seasons in the minors. He hasn't quite been able to carry that success to the majors yet, but he is too good for the minor leagues.

Bradfield hasn't hit quite that well in the minors, but he isn't that far off either. His 269/.383/.353/.736 slashing line is not too shabby in its own right. Both of them have the talent to flank JJ Bleday in Oakland's outfield. They'd be upgrades over Seth Brown and Lawrence Butler, who are the other starting outfielders for the A's at the moment.

Miller is not a player the Athletics should trade unless they get blown away with an offer. This trade offer by the Orioles would come close. It's a strong deal that would improve their team's chances at winning the World Series, while Oakland gets more prospects going forward. That seems like a win for both sides.