Padres trade for Mason Miller and JP Sears

With the MLB trade deadline just hours away, the San Diego Padres have made a trade with the (Sacramento?) Athletics to get a starting pitcher and another great relief pitcher.

Both Mason Miller (free agent in 2030) and JP Sears (free agent in 2029) come with years of team control remaining, so this is both a win-now and win-later move.

Miller has 20 saves this season, following 28 saves last season, for an A's team that isn't very good. He was an all-star last year and remains an excellent relief pitcher, it'll be interesting to see how he fits in the with the "four horsemen" that have been ruling the bullpen for the Padres.

Sears has been a pretty good middle-of-the-rotation type of pitcher for the A's the last couple of years. His strikeout numbers have improved this season but the overall performance has taken a step back. He adds depth to the Padres' rotation, which is helpful in planning for injuries, but I don't know that he's an improvement over anyone in the San Diego rotation right now.

This is the shocking bit. For a good closer (that the Padres didn't really need) and an above-average starter, the Padres traded away the #3 prospect in all of baseball and the #1 prospect in their fairly-weak farm system. On paper, this feels like a steal for the A's and like a desperation move from A.J. Preller.

UPDATE: Yikes?

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