Before closer Mason Miller was acquired by the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster trade deadline deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers had been linked to the Athletics All-Star.
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With Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates both on the injured list, it seemed inevitable that the Dodgers would land a closer this summer — but a deal never came.
Several teams traded for a closer at the deadline: Camilo Doval and David Bednar went to the New York Yankees, Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies and Miller to the Padres.
But the Dodgers were much more conservative in their pursuits, acquiring reliever Brock Stewart and outfielder Alex Call.
As for their NL West rivals, the Padres essentially won the trade deadline as president of baseball operations A.J. Preller made five trades on July 31 involving a total of 22 players. The acquisition of Miller headlined deadline day as he was considered the crown jewel of the relief market.
The Padres wasted no time getting Miller acclimated to the San Diego clubhouse. The team quickly told the closer about their feelings toward the defending champions.
“They told me right away,” Miller said on Foul Territory. “‘Obviously, we don’t like those guys a whole lot.’
“I haven’t really had a rivalry to that extent. The A’s play the Mariners, play the Astros a whole lot, a lot of close games and we want to win those more than others. But not rivalry to the sense of Padres and the Dodgers.”
The two NL West teams face off in a three-game series beginning Aug. 15. The division race has tightened as the Padres are only two games behind the Dodgers heading into the weekend.
There’s no shortage of entertainment when it comes to baseball’s best division, and it’ll be interesting to witness the Dodgers and Padres clash following their last meeting. In June, the Dodgers and Padres faced each other twice in the span of nine days.
Thus far, the rivalry matchups have featured benches clearing and both managers getting tossed. There’s no telling what’s in store when the Dodgers and Padres next face off.
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Photo Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images
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