Padres Acquire Mason Miller and JP Sears from the Athletics

The Padres Acquire closer Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears from the Athletics

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

July 31, 2025

The San Diego Padres and Athletics have agreed to a trade to acquire closer Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears in exchange for SS Leodalis De Vries, the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball, along with RHP Braden Nett, RHP Henry Báez and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez.

Few things are promised in life, but year after year, one thing has become almost certain. The Padres General Manager, AJ Preller, continues to prove that he may have the most aggressive trading strategy in Major League Baseball.

Padres Acquire Pitchers From Athletics

The trade at hand is another for the books. The biggest name in the exchange is 18-year-old shortstop Leo De Vries, who is MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect. The other three prospects are top 30 prospects in the San Diego system — RHP Braden Nett (No. 3), RHP Henry Báez (No. 13) and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez (No. 17).

In return, the Padres will receive some much-needed pitching help from the A’s. Mason Miller has made a splash since his arrival as a closer in 2024, when he finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. An All-Star that season, the 6’5”, broad-shouldered Miller has been clocked as high as 104 mph and has a 90-mph+ slider. As of the end of play Wednesday, Miller ranked sixth among eligible AL closers in Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza’s reliever rankings with 97.7 total points. (Minimum 22 appearances, cannot be injured or on the restricted list.) For context, Detroit Tigers closer Will Vest is in fifth, with 114.7. In 38 appearances, Miller has a 1.017 WHIP (fourth among AL closers), 27.2 K–BB% (fourth), and 6.3 GE/BE (fifth). His one weakness in 2025 has been the long ball, as his 2.7 HR% is 9th out of 12.

Left-handed starting pitcher JP Sears has gone 7–9 with a 4.95 ERA (118 ERA-minus) in 2025. Across 111 innings in 22 starts, Sears has a 1.270 WHIP and a 14.4 K–BB%. Pitching in San Diego should help reduce his high HR% of 4.9%, well above the major-league average of 3.0%.

Padres Playoff Push

The Padres, much like last year, are making a break for the playoffs and potentially winning the NL West Division. Currently, the Padres are third in wildcard standings and are only three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in their division. The Padres managed to gain some massive headway after the Dodgers got double-swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve also had some recent success offensively, sweeping the New York Mets at home this week.

Last year at the trade deadline, Preller traded most of the Padres’ farm for a brand new bullpen. This included two relievers from the Miami Marlins, lefty closer Tanner Scott, middle reliever Bryan Hoeing and All-Star reliever Jason Adam from the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Padres gave up Robby Snelling (At the time the Padres’ No. 2 prospect), Dylan Lesko (No.3), Homer Bush Jr. (No.8), Adam Mazur (No. 4), Graham Pauley (No. 5), J.D. Gonzalez (No.12) and Jay Beshears (No. 24).

Padres are Not Done

With all that said and done, the swinging friars just need a new bat. This has been the point of interest for the club since the 2025 season began. For a while earlier in the season, the Padres were the worst in baseball in terms of offensive production. As of today, the Padres as a team currently rank 25th in Slugging percentage and 28th in Home Runs.

This stems from the back half of the Padres’ lineup essentially being a gaping hole. The Padres do not have a full-time left lielder; the role is primarily carried by various utility players. Additionally, Padres catchers Elías Diaz and Martin Maldonado currently slash .202/.269/.308/ and .204/.245/.327 respectively.

One extra bat could ease some tension and perhaps restore the Padres’ offensive numbers. Many names have been thrown out into trade talks, including Boston Red Sox slugger Jarren Duran and Cleveland Guardians contact-hitter Steven Kwan. Reports indicate that the Padres are ready to make another splash before the day is over.

The real question is, who are they going to give up? Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez are hot tickets on the current market, but reports indicate many potential trades could have hinged on the inclusion of De Vries.