During the 2021 MLB Draft, the Athletics selected RHP Mason Miller in the third round. He was not the biggest name in college, making the jump from D3 Waynesburg University to D1 Gardner-Webb for his graduate year, but he was electric the year he was drafted.
It would not be long before Miller would make his MLB debut. He did so on April 19, 2023, against the Chicago Cubs, starting the game and throwing 15 pitches above 100 mph.
The following year, Miller would make the transition to becoming the team’s closer. During that year, he was named a reserve player for the 2024 All-Star Game and would go on to deliver a 103.6 mph pitch to Trea Turner.
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A’s still looking for their closer following the Mason Miller trade
Miller was one of the most sought-after arms ahead of MLB’s 2025 trade deadline. The San Diego Padres made an offer that the A’s could not refuse.
They would trade Miller to San Diego in exchange for Leo De Vries, Braden Nett, Eduarniel Nunez, and Henry Baez.
The A’s have gone with a closer-by-committee since then, and heading into camp, the closer job is wide open, via Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter.
“The Athletics enter camp with a closer-by-committee outlook in the aftermath of last summer’s Mason Miller trade, and bringing aboard veteran Scott Barlow and Mark Leiter Jr. adds experience to a young relief corps. Justin Sterner and Hogan Harris were two of the team’s most effective relievers in 2025, and Sterner has the swing-and-miss stuff to fit in the late innings, but track record will likely win out to open the year.”
It will likely be a closer-by-committee role for the most part this year again. But Scott Barlow sticks out as the one who may get more opportunities than others to shut the door.
