Padres Are 1-9 in Their Last 10 Games. One MLB Insider Says Trade Mason Miller Now.

The San Diego Padres just dropped nine of their last ten games. They’re 14.5 games back in the NL West. And now there’s a real argument being made that they should trade the best reliever in baseball.

Mason Miller has been absolutely filthy this season. A 0.98 ERA. 22 saves. 67 strikeouts across 36.2 innings. He’s throwing gas and making hitters look silly. But the Padres are 44-46 and sinking fast. So former Mets GM and current MLB Network Radio analyst Steve Phillips thinks San Diego needs to do something drastic.

The case for moving Miller

Phillips made his case on MLB Now. He didn’t sugarcoat it.

“They need starting pitching and offense. Okay, their surplus is bullpen, and Mason Miller is the biggest chip that they have. And there is a team in the Bronx that would desperately give up what it would take to get him.”

That team in the Bronx is obviously the Yankees. New York has been hunting for bullpen help all year. And the Yankees have prospects. The Padres don’t have a deep farm system, but they could restock it fast with one phone call.

Phillips didn’t stop there. “I’m telling you right now, the Padres have to do that if they want to try to get back in it this year.”

That’s a pretty direct statement from a guy who used to run a front office. He knows the math. A shutdown closer is a luxury when your team can’t consistently build leads. And right now, the Padres can’t score or keep other teams off the board long enough for Miller to matter.

The other side of the argument

Of course, there’s a counterpoint. Elite closers don’t grow on trees. Miller is under team control for years. Trading him means admitting this season is lost and punting on 2025 too, at least in part. That’s a tough sell in a market where the owner has been spending aggressively.

But the Padres have bigger problems than the ninth inning. Their rotation has been inconsistent. The lineup has gone cold at the worst possible time. And the Dodgers are running away with the division. Making a single move for a starter or a bat probably isn’t enough. Trading Miller could bring back multiple pieces that address both needs at once.

The Padres front office hasn’t tipped its hand yet. No reports of serious trade talks. But the calendar is ticking toward the deadline. And if San Diego keeps losing, the pressure to do something dramatic is only going to get louder.

Phillips might be the first to say it publicly. He probably won’t be the last.