The Padres made a huge move Thursday morning to create a “super bullpen” they hope will led the way to the team’s first World Series title.
It was the first of what is expected to be many shockwaves before the 3 p.m. PT trade deadline.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller began his maneuvers by sending top prospect Leo De Vries and multiple pitching prospects to the Athletics for closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher JP Sears.
The cost for Miller and Sears also included three right-handed pitchers — Henry Baez, Braden Nett and Eduarniel Nuñez. All three pitchers are among the Padres’ top 20 prospects. Nuñez, a reliever made his major league debut for the Padres this season. Nett and Baez were in Double-A San Antonio’s rotation.
It remains possible — even likely — that starting pitcher Dylan Cease is moved.
Jettisoning Cease would help clear payroll space so the team can add at least one position player, believed to be a right-handed-hitting outfielder.
However, the team does expect to have added some commitments to its payroll by day’s end.
Teams continue to ask about closer Robert Suarez, but it seemed highly unlikely as of Thursday morning that he would be moved.
Rather, the Padres plan to attack the rest of the season — and the playoffs — with what one source called “a super bullpen.” That is similar to what they did at the trade deadline last year when they added Tanner Scott and Jason Adam.
There has been uncertainty about top starters Michael King, who is nearing a return after being out since mid-May with a nerve impingement in near his throwing his shoulder, and Yu Darvish, who on Wednesday threw seven shutout innings in his fifth start back from an elbow issue that sidelined him the season’s first three months.
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller throws to the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
So the Padres were always going to try to bolster their bullpen, which has been the biggest strength for a team that sits 11 games over .500 (60-49), three games up in the race for the final wild-card spot and three games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West.
It clearly was a priority, in that virtually every team they talked to about top targets asked for De Vries as part of the return.
The 26-year-old Miller was considered by some to be the unattainable prize of the trade deadline. But Preller went all in by spending his top prospect chip in De Vries, a shortstop ranked as high as the third overall prospect in baseball.
Miller has thrown more than twice as many pitches at 101 mph or faster than any pitcher in baseball. He has a 3.76 ERA but will bring a 10⅔-inning scoreless streak to San Diego.
Oakland A’s starting pitcher JP Sears throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night in Oakland. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Sears, a 29-year-old left-hander, has a 4.95 ERA in 22 starts.
Miller and Sears will cost the Padres a little more than $500,000 between them. Both will be arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2026.
De Vries was long said by several people in the organization to be virtually untouchable. But that is a relative term with Preller, who has made a habit of sending away top prospects who might work out later in an effort to improve the major league roster immediately.
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De Vries had to be in play because while Preller was instructed to proceed however he saw fit, there was limited payroll flexibility.
The Padres already have the ninth-highest payroll in MLB, with commitments of almost $225 million when factoring in CBT overage charges and player bonuses.
This article will be updated.