Mason

Miller

The 27-year-old flamethrower was arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two player. He had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $3.4 million in the arbitration process, so he appears to have done very well for himself here. With Robert Suarez out of the picture, Miller should have the ninth inning to himself in 2026 and will be one of the first closers plucked off of the board in all fantasy drafts.

Mason Miller and David Bednar are also being added to the bullpen. Skubal will join Paul Skenes in the Team USA rotation, which will also have Joe Ryan, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd available as starting options. Some announced players might drop out in March, but so far, this definitely looks like the best roster Team USA has managed to assemble for a WBC.

Rosenthal, Lin and Sammon add the Padres have expressed interest in the Mets’ trio of elite pitching prospects — Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat — while noting that franchise cornerstones Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr. have not surfaced in trade discussions. Any deal involving those prospects would qualify as a blockbuster, though McLean’s inclusion would be especially surprising given that he’s been viewed as virtually untouchable since making his major-league debut late last season. New York remains in the market for an established front-line starter and an additional high-leverage reliever to pair with newly acquired stopper Devin Williams following Edwin Díaz’s departure to Los Angeles. While The Athletic notes that nothing appears imminent, this is a situation worth monitoring closely from a fantasy standpoint.

The same goes for David Morgan. Of moving the relievers to the rotation, Stammen said: “It’s a risky proposition health-wise and performance-wise.” We’d say it still might be worth it in Miller’s case, especially given the Padres’ lack of rotation depth, but if they’re not going to do it, then Miller, who allowed just two runs and struck out 45 in 23 1/3 innings after being traded to San Diego at the deadline, has an argument for fantasy baseball’s No. 1 RP heading into the 2026.

This was a no-brainer for Suarez, who was due to make $8 million each of the next two seasons. He’ll probably double that in free agency, though he won’t be in line for a particularly long-term deal as he enters his age-35 campaign. Suarez led the NL with 40 saves and finished with a 2.97 ERA and a 75/16 K/BB in 69 2/3 innings last season. His exit paves the way for Mason Miller to take over as the Padres’ closer, though the team is weighing returning him to the rotation instead.

Miller appears more likely that Morejon to get another try as a starter, but we’ll find out for sure later. The Padres are definitely going to be hurting in the rotation with Dylan Cease and Michael King set to become free agents, though they do have Joe Musgrove on the way back from Tommy John. The closer’s role is also likely to open up, unless the Padres can come to another agreement with Robert Suarez before he opts out of the two years and $16 million he has left on his contract.

Miller froze Carson Kelly on a sizzling 104.5 mph fastball on the outside corner — the fastest postseason pitch in the pitch-tracking era since 2008 — and needed just 15 pitches to strike out the side in the seventh inning. He averaged 103 mph on his heater and touched triple digits 11 times in this outing. The electrifying 27-year-old stopper has struck out eight batters over 2 2/3 scoreless frames through the first two games of the series. He might be the most intimidating reliever in baseball heading into next season.

Miller was summoned to work the seventh inning of the NL Wild Card Series opener at shadow-filled Wrigley Field with San Diego trailing 2-1 at the time. The electrifying 22-year-old closer, who wrapped up the regular season with 21 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings over 20 appearances, touched triple digits five times and needed just 13 pitches (10 strikes) to spin a flawless frame. He’ll be a top five relief pitcher off the board in all fantasy drafts next spring.

Miller struck out three of the five batters he faced in his first appearance since Sunday. Robert Suarez also should have been available, as he hasn’t pitched since Monday, but he got another night off. It’s Miller’s 22nd save overall. He’s up to 101 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings for the season.

This really shouldn’t have been a thing; the first slider — the only one not swung at by an Orioles hitter — was clearly up and out of the zone. The rest was quite impressive, though. The last slider to Emmanuel Rivera was actually the only pitch in the inning that wound up in the strike zone. Miller has a 1.50 ERA and a 22/5 K/BB in 12 innings for the Padres.