New York Mets were in the mix for elite closer at trade deadline

Former Athletics closer Mason Miller was an initial target for the Mets.

Aug 1, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller (22) pitches during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images | Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

The New York Mets undoubtedly strung together a great trade deadline.

The team was able to acquire three elite bullpen arms by trading for Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants and reigning NL Reliever of the Year, Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals. There was, however, another elite bullpen arm who was on the trade market that the Mets were also in the mix for until he landed elsewhere.

In an August 5 article for The Athletic, baseball insider Ken Rosenthal reported that the Mets were "very serious" in trading for former Athletics closer Mason Miller, while also adding that the talks between the two sides were "substantial." Miller ultimately was traded to the San Diego Padres, with New York pivoting towards the aforementioned Soto, Rogers, and Helsley to fortify their bullpen.

Mets, Yankees, Phillies were teams the A’s initially targeted in Miller talks.The Padres got him. https://t.co/ou4viftjWD pic.twitter.com/0kl1ZNRqvs

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 5, 2025

Miller has proven to be one of the game's most dominant bullpen arms, with his fastball most notably reaching well over 100 mph. The right-hander seemed to be an untouchable player for the A's with the hopes of being one of the pieces that would help the franchise during their rebuild.

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Before being dealt to San Diego, Miller was stellar for the A's last year, converting 28 of his 31 save chances, as well as posting a 2.49 ERA with 104 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.88 in 65 innings. The 26-year-old was also named to his first All-Star Game.

Miller followed up his impressive 2024 campaign by going 20-for-23 in save opportunities for the A's this year with a 3.76 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. The righty hurler is now a part of a Padres bullpen that has the best ERA in all of baseball, at 3.03.

With the Padres ending up trading a lot of their top prospects to land Miller (including Leodalis De Vries, ranked as MLB's third-best prospect), it would have been fascinating to see what a potential deal for Miller would have looked like if he came to Flushing. But New York has what the baseball industry thinks are three solid bullpen additions that they hope can propel them to another playoff berth during these last two months of the regular season.