Padres' Mason Miller Given Surprisingly High Trade Odds Ahead of Deadline

The major question around the San Diego Padres ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline is what the team will do with All-Star closer Mason Miller.

Miller has seen his name emerge in trade rumors of late, with many around baseball believing that he could be moved again. The Padres just traded for Miller last summer, giving up former top prospect Leo De Vries in the process.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is known for his ability to pull off trades that nobody saw coming, for better or worse. But moving away from Miller would go against his instincts, which is why some have pushed back on the idea.

Landing Miller was seen as one of the bigger trades in recent memory, so for the Padres to move on from him this quickly would be a little shocking. However, given that the team hasn't been able to show consistency on the field this year, moving Miller for future assets could make sense.

San Diego is currently slotted in the middle of a crowded field within the National League wild-card race, putting their playoff hopes in question. This could have the Padres becoming sellers at the trade deadline, with Miller at the center of it all.

As the deadline comes closer, there seems to be a lot of smoke around a trade of Miller. In fact, MLB insiders Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN have given Miller a 40% chance of being traded this summer.

"Less than a year after giving up one of the top prospects in baseball in shortstop Leo De Vries to acquire Miller, the Padres are considering moving him," they wrote. "Miller is a true game changer, the king of the ninth, and with even the best teams always in need of another lockdown reliever, Miller's status will run parallel with the Padres'. If they don't turn things around soon, he could be an ex-Padre by Aug. 3."

Teams like the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies have been linked to Miller, and Preller could create a bidding war for his services. Miller has discussed the interest from the Yankees, saying it's an honor, but that he also isn't a "big city guy."

However, Miller is under contract for three more years, so if the Padres were to trade him, he wouldn't have much of a say in where he would go. The closer has previously expressed a desire to remain in San Diego, but at this point, it may be out of his hands.

It remains to be seen if Miller will indeed be moved, but it will likely all depend on how the Padres perform leading up to the deadline. Preller's preference is to keep Miller while adding talent to the roster, but his hands could be tied if the team can't turn the season around.

At 50-53, the Padres are running out of time to prove to Preller he shouldn't sell.

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