A's Land Future Stars in Mason Miller Deal
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The A's shocked the baseball world last week when they elected to deal their star closer, Mason Miller, alongside lefty starting pitcher JP Sears, to the San Diego Padres. The A's didn't give up their former All-Star for cheap, as it cost the Padres lots of young talent, including the third-ranked prospect in all of baseball, Leo De Vries.
The centerpiece of the deal for the Athletics was landing De Vries, an 18-year-old switch-hitting infielder from the Dominican Republic. De Vries comes with a 60-grade hit tool and good agility, along with a solid arm that could keep him on the left side of the infield.
With him still being a couple of years away from being MLB-ready, his primary position of shortstop is fine for now, but as he continues to climb the organizational ladder, the A's front office may have to make a decision on who they envision as the team's shortstop long-term, De Vries of Jacob Wilson. That will be a problem for down the road, however, and a good problem to have.
De Vries is one of the best prospects ever traded at the trade deadline. His potential is through the roof, and the team only had to trade a reliever and a back-end starting pitcher to get him. Sure, Miller is a great arm, but at the end of the day, he's still just a reliever who had less than 40 innings pitched when the A's made the move.
The A's are hoping De Vries can be a future All-Star infielder that plays daily. He has received some very intriguing comps at his young age, including one to Francisco Lindor.
Leo De Vries turns on the jets! 🏎️
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 3, 2025
The @Athletics' No. 1 prospect lines a triple -- his first extra-base hit with the High-A @LansingLugnuts: pic.twitter.com/ok0d2TtXQ6
Another exciting prospect the A's got in the deal is Eduarniel Nuñez, a 26-year-old hard-throwing right-hander. His 60-grade fastball paired with a 70-grade slider gives him so much potential. His fastball reaches triple digits and has one of the highest graded sliders in the minor leagues.
He's shown some control problems in the minor leagues, but he's been getting better. Nuñez struggled in his initial stint with the A's, however, his nasty stuff gives the A's something to be excited about moving forward. The club optioned him to Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals.
The A's trend for getting hard-throwing arms showed when they also landed their now fifth-ranked prospect, Braden Nett. Nett has a sneaky 97+ mph fastball, which is graded a 60 by MLB Pipeline... and oh yes, he's a starting pitcher. This year in Double-A, he holds a 3.39 ERA in 17 starts and has 86 strikeouts. The 23-year-old will likely head to Vegas before long, and could make his MLB Debut at some point next season.
Braden Nett has some freaky stuff, he flashed it tonight striking out 8 and generating 19 whiffs without any walks.
— Danny (@dannybarrand_) June 13, 2025
4-Seam sat 96 and topped up at 98 with plus ride, Cutter 90-91 got whiffs, 78-79 Curve was dominant, mixed in upper-80s Kick-Change. 7 pitch arsenal in total. pic.twitter.com/yvLqzBHYDu
Although lots of people will look at the A's trading two of the best arms on their staff, including their All-Star closer, the team only made the move because of the future stars they're getting in return.
Leo De Vries could become an everyday infielder for the team in the next few years, and they just got some solid options to help their current pitching staff, as well as set them up for a very bright future in the A's franchise, wherever they are playing.
I grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about my favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but I love the team and all of the current and former players so much. I currently attend school at Penn State Scranton where I get the opportunity to play college baseball.
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