Padres' Mason Miller Reveals Devastating Family Matter That Kept Him Out in June

San Diego Padres star closer Mason Miller was away from the team for a three-game stretch earlier this season.

This was due to a family matter, and Miller didn't share many details at the time. But at the All-Star Game this week, Miller decided to reveal what kept him out for multiple games.

During a moment in between innings of the All-Star Game, everyone was asked to hold up cards featuring the name of someone they know who has been impacted by cancer. Miller held up a card that said "Mom", revealing the devastating family news for the right-hander.

“I’m not looking to super get into it," Miller said. "But I’m going to put it on my sign. So it’s not a secret.”

Following the All-Star Game, Miller went to Pittsburgh to visit his mother before he joins the Padres in Kansas City for the beginning of a nine-game road trip. This news for Miller is horrible, and the details were kept hidden until now.

The Padres placed Miller on the Bereavement/Family Medical Leave List before the team's series against the St. Louis Cardinals in June. This was a very hard time for Miller, but the entire Padres organization showed him an incredible amount of support along the way.

“The guys are really supportive,” Miller said at the time. “… The coaching staff, training staff, players in this locker room and everybody not only has my back, but everybody in this room has each others too. So it’s just really special when you get that opportunity to lean into those people around you.”

Miller has become one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. The right-hander has posted an incredible 0.91 ERA over 39.2 innings, recording 25 saves in 25 opportunities.

His performance this year got him some early season Cy Young buzz, and he's been the key piece of the Padres bullpen. Miller was deemed the "most unhittable" pitcher in baseball history as well by some of the best closers in the game's history.

However, even with his success, the closer has been placed in trade rumors of late. With the Padres' season at a crossroads, the team could look to flip Miller for multiple prospects, helping to replenish the farm system.

Miller has been rumored to be a target of the New York Yankees, with the closer addressing everything going on ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“The rumors are what they are,” Miller said. “The Yankees are a good team, and they’re obviously a team that is going to add most years. I think it’s just a compliment in a way that good teams are interested in good players.”

It remains to be seen if Miller will indeed be moved, but he has expressed a desire to remain in San Diego previously. No extension talks have been held between the two sides yet, so Miller will just have to wait and see what happens.

“No, that hasn’t been really discussed," Miller told Padres On SI in an exclusive conversation earlier this year. "I think they’ve hinted at some interest in it, but to your point, they do have me for the next three years also, so this isn’t something that’s like, ‘This guy’s out of here in a year and a half or this season.’ So I think there’s some comfort in that."

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