Padres’ Mason Miller gets 100% real on potentially not closing out All-Star game

There’s no shortage of teams interested in acquiring San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mason Miller. But he’s taking things in stride. And Miller got 100% real on potentially not closing out the All-Star Game, according to The Athletic.

The reason? The game’s location.

“They do know how they’d like to close the game in a potential save situation,” Katie Woo wrote. “When choosing between Miller or Jhoan Duran for closing duties, they again opted in favor of the home crowd. Miller, making his second All-Star Game, understood.”

“I was expecting him for the ninth,” Miller said to Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”

Padres RP Mason Miller enjoying tremendous season

The trade rumors began to fly when the Padres started to fade. As the fall continued, the calls got louder for the team to ship Miller elsewhere.

It’s not that the Padres don’t like or appreciate Miller. But they gave up a stud to get him last year. The idea was to go for the World Series last year. That was why the Padres sent minor-league star shortstop Leo De Vries to the Athletics.

Now, De Vries is the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball. He’s having a tremendous season. And the Padres have a closer who doesn’t get to work much because the Padres aren’t winning games.

After a bad June, the Padres have gone 5-7 in July. They have fallen to 48-48 on the season and are a distant 12.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

They’re going nowhere fast, and trading Miller seems prudent. They likely won’t get anything like De Vries in return, but they need to shop and see if they can get close.

His pitching ability is unique, according to sandiegouniontribune.com.

“He throws ghostballs,” Reds All-Star infielder Sal Stewart said. “You go up there and kind of are just swinging and hoping it hits your barrel. He’s at another level.”

A solid All-Star appearance, closer or not, would only increase Miller’s trade value.

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