Padres' Mason Miller Named NL Reliever Of The Year

The San Diego Padres rolled the dice at the 2025 trade deadline by acquiring superstar closer Mason Miller in a deal with the Athletics. 

Since then, Miller has shown why he is considered the best closer in the game of baseball right now. 

Miller was then named a finalist for the National League Reliever of the Year award, and on Wednesday, he was named the winner. 

The award is officially named the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year award, and Miller became the eighth unanimous winner of this award. 

The other two finalists were Jhoan Duran of the Philadelphia Phillies and Trevor Megill of the Milwaukee Brewers, but Miller's season was all sorts of historic. 

Miller set a Padres franchise record with 34 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings at the start of the year in an unreal feat. 

By season's end, Miller finished with a 5-2 record, a 1.67 ERA and just 26 walks across 66 games and 70 innings. 

Miller had 38 saves with just 3 blown saves, a 0.90 WHIP, and only 37 hits and 13 earned runs all season long. Miller also had 129 strikeouts, which is nearly two strikeouts per inning pitched during the regular season. 

Miller was regularly seen striking out the side, and whenever he came on to the field, the chances of winning the game increased greatly for San Diego. 

However, Miller said he doesn't see this as a year he is "satisfied with," according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. 

The Padres lost to Megill and the Brewers in the NLDS, and Miller went 1.2 innings, allowing two runs and three walks and taking the loss as Jackson Chourio hit a walk-off base hit in Game 2 of the series. 

At the time, it was a tough ask for Miller to throw two innings, but Craig Stammen simply wanted the ball in the hands of his best player. 

A year ago, the Padres acquired Miller along with JP Sears in exchange for a four-player package headlined by star prospect Leo De Vries, and questions swirled at the time. 

It seemed like a costly move at the time, but San Diego built a rockstar bullpen that also included Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon in 2026. 

Now, Mason Miller adds a prestigious award to his trophy case, and the future remains bright for the superstar closer in San Diego.