If the Philadelphia Phillies are looking for a reliable, high-leverage bullpen arm before the July 30 trade deadline, they might just have an option within their grasp — literally.
NBC Sports Philadelphia's Taryn Hatcher reported during Sunday's first-half finale broadcast that Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller would be hitching a ride on the Phillies' plane to Arlington, Texas, for the All-Star Game. The Phillies would do well to offer him a ride back after the festivities.
Phillies need to offer Athletics' All-Star closer Mason Miller a ride back from Texas
While the realistic chances of landing the flame-throwing Miller at the trade deadline seemed to die as soon as the possibility first surfaced in May and we proposed this trade, anything is possible. With Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski not afraid to make a big deal, until the July 30 deadline passes, we can still dream about adding the 25-year-old phenom to the back end of the bullpen.
It's especially easy to imagine after watching Seranthony Domínguez get lit up by the A's during Sunday's ugly, one-sided 18-3 slugfest. He gave up four runs on three hits, two of them home runs, in 1 1/3 innings.
According to Phillies Nation's Tim Kelly, manager Rob Thomson still trusts Domínguez.
"I always trust him,” Thomson said after the game, per Kelly. “He’s got a great arm, he’s just gotta throw strikes. Get ahead of people and put them away. Take away today and he’s actually thrown the ball decent — he’s thrown better than he was earlier in the season. So, I still trust him.”
Thomson might still have to put his faith in the 29-year-old right-hander because that's who he has. The problem with Domínguez is he hasn't been consistent enough this season. Check out these monthly splits:
Month | ERA |
|---|---|
Mar/Apr | 9.58 |
May | 1.04 |
Jun | 1.04 |
Jul | 7.11 |
When he's on, he's on; when he's not, it's ugly. His inconsistencies should be enough to convince the front office they need to swing a deal for a reliable, high-end relief arm.
Mason Miller lit up the radar gun at The Bank
Back to Miller, though, who threw 13 four-seam fastballs in his appearance on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. Each and every heater clocked in at over 100 mph, peaking at an absurd 103.7 mph. You can't say that wouldn't look good coming out of the bullpen in October — and through 2029, which is how long he's under team control.
However, the problem still remains that the asking price will be a lot for an arm of Miller's caliber. Ruben Amaro Jr. said on The Phillies Show podcast that the Phillies would need to part with one of the top prospects in the system to get a deal done for Miller and his teammate, outfielder Brent Rooker.
One of Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford, plus others, would have to be on the table for that kind of deal. But if the Phillies want to add a legitimate weapon to the relief corps, Miller would be the guy to spend that prospect capital on.
Who knows, maybe the Phillies' All-Star contingent will have a seat saved for Miller when they pile on the plane to come home.