It Would Take a "Herschel Walker Trade' to Pry Mason Miller Out of Oakland

Jason Burke | Jul 13, 2024

Jul 10, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller (19) reacts after defeating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Mason Miller is in the middle of his first full season, excelling while adapting to a new role in the bullpen, and has been named as the Oakland A's representative for the All Star Game. Of course teams would love to get their hands on the A's closer, but according to a report from Jon Heyman in the New York Post, as one MLB executive put it, it would take a "Herschel Walker-type trade" to pry Miller away from the soon-to-be-city-less A's.

Walker was drafted in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, and in 1989 was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a slew of draft picks and "other assets." The trade ended up including 18 players in all, including Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.

Since MLB teams can't trade draft picks, it's unlikely that anything close to this kind of a deal would happen, which could also mean that Miller is not going anywhere.

One caveat to be considered, however, is that while draft picks themselves cannot be traded, the players that are selected beginning on Sunday could be tagged as a "player to be named later" with that later date being after the season.

It's unlikely that Cleveland, a team that typically does not trade away top-end talent, would go after Miller, but as an example (since they have the first pick in the MLB Draft), they could select, say, Travis Bazzana first overall on Sunday. Two weeks later, Bazzana could also be the PTBNL in a Miller deal that would net the A's the top pick in the draft, as well as some other pieces.

While this scenario is unlikely, it wouldn't be awful for the A's to consider something like this if they are open to trading Miller. In this particular deal, the A's would essentially have two top-4 draft picks, Cleveland's and their own, which is not something we're likely to see much of anymore as a way to rebuild teams with the new lottery system in place.

The Houston Astros turned two top-5 picks in 2015 into Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker to add to the roster they were already building. With the A's assured a pick outside of the top-10 next season after being in the lottery back-to-back years, this would be a way to infuse talent into their farm system and get them just a little closer to contention down the road.

If we want to get really wild, Competitive Balance Picks can be traded, and Cleveland also has a selection in Round A, giving them the 36th overall selection as well. While this pick cannot be traded for money, the A's do have the rights to Kyler Murray just laying around for just such an occasion. The first overall pick and the 36th overall pick would be a pretty good starting point in a trade discussion, but again, it's unlikely that Cleveland is the franchise to pull off such a deal with.

The deal would also have to be completed by Sunday in order for the A's to actually select the player they want at No. 36.

We're not saying any of this is what will happen by any stretch, but there are ways to attempt to get close to a "Herschel Walker type deal" if teams want to get creative.

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