As if the New York Mets’ bullpen wasn’t dominant enough, they almost had the bullpen to end all bullpens as the trade deadline steam picked up.
The San Diego Padres may have won the Mason Miller sweepstakes on July 31, the Mets were close to adding the rocket-armed righty to their pen after “substantial” talks with the Athletics, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
San Diego was never really on the radar to land Miller, it seems, as the A’s main three targets to trade with for the closer were the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and the Mets.
The talks with the Mets were so good that the A’s considered the team the “most serious” about Miller, but apparently the strength of the talks weakened over time, and the Mets eventually landed Tyler Rogers and reigning NL Reliever of the Year Ryan Helsley instead, which is still a good day’s work.
Miller was one of many great pickups the Friars had at the deadline nine days ago, as Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, and Freddy Fermin also headed to the West Coast to try to help the Padres claim the NL West for the first time since 2006.
And they could be on their way, as the team currently sits three games behind the Dodgers.
