Padres predicted to make Mason Miller trade decision for agonizing reason

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The San Diego Padres have one of the more intriguing trade issues to resolve this season, as Mason Miller's name has become a hot topic a few weeks out from the trade deadline.

After spending a fortune to acquire him at the 2025 MLB trade deadline from the Athletics, A.J. Preller and the Padres might be gearing up to trade him this summer to a contender.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale is predicting that is exactly what will happen to Miller. But, in making this trade deadline prediction, Nightengale revealed the agonizing reason why this deal could happen.

Padres predicted to trade Mason Miller for an agonizing reason

"Simply, he's too valuable to sit around and rot in the bullpen, and the Padres could use their return to bolster their woefully thin rotation," Nightengale writes. "Prediction: Going."

In predicting that Miller will be traded by the Padres, Nightengale brought up the brutal reason why a deal makes sense.

Despite having the best closer in Major League Baseball, the Padres aren't giving him enough chances to actually do his job as a closer.

Nightengale notes that Miller "has had only 10 save opportunities since May 30." That's a month and a half of games, and Miller has only had 10 chances to save a game for the Padres.

MORE: MLB execs believe Padres will trade Mason Miller at trade deadline

Another brutal note from Nightengale is that Miller has had "14 times already he has had three or more days of rest, including a stretch in June where he never appeared for six days."

While Miller is the best closer in baseball, and he has a 0.89 ERA with 25 saves on the season, the Padres aren't good enough to actually use him as a closer.

To become a better team, Nightengale is predicting that the Padres will wind up trading Miller this summer to upgrade their rotation and/or their offense.

It's an agonizing prediction for the Padres, as it feels like they failed Miller by not getting him more chances to save games for the team in 2026 so far.