Mason Miller has become one of the most frightening closers in all of baseball, and he will come with a hefty price tag for teams calling the Athletics about him before the MLB trade deadline.
While several teams looking to bolster their bullpen are interested in Miller, industry sources told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that Oakland's asking price will be deemed too high.
“(Oakland) will ask for way too much,” the source told Rosenthal. “It’s going to be absurd. They have too much control over him. There aren’t many star guys out there right now that are super controllable. It would have to be a crazy good package.
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“Never say never, but he’s so controllable and he’s such a critical part of their team. I think they’d have to be blown away.”
Miller is under team control through the 2029 MLB season, so any team acquiring him this season would have him under contract for at least five more seasons.
The 25-year-old is in the midst of a breakout year, having posted a 2.14 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 13 saves over 33 1/5 innings pitched through 27 games.
Miller is one of MLB's most dominant relief pitchers with a fastball that tops out at nearly 104 mph, and Rosenthal believes the righty will be one of the "most heavily sought after arms" at the deadline.
Athletics
Aside from the A's, Rosenthal listed the Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies as the handful of teams who are considered "true sellers" for a potential trade. But the source told Rosenthal they believe Miller will stand pat in the Bay.
“I don’t think they’re going to move him,” the source said. “He’s too premium of a guy.”
But it's the A's and the MLB trade deadline -- nothing truly ever is off the table as there's no telling what will happen.
