GM A.J. Preller may like to dance around a lot of possibilities when he talks to the media, but new manager Craig Stammen not so much. One of Stammen’s first moves as the San Diego Padres arrived at spring training was to officially name reliever Mason Miller as the team’s new closer, with the move reported by AJ Cassavell of MLB com.
The move isn’t unexpected, but it does eliminate some of the uncertainty for a pitching staff that has plenty of it. The Padres lost their closer from last year, Robert Suarez, to the Atlanta Braves, and the last thing the team needs is to be conducting tryouts or anticipating a trade that may or may not happen.
Miller, meanwhile, excelled in a setup role last season, and he’s expected to do the same as closer. He posted an ERA of 0.77 in 22 appearances in San Diego after being acquired by the Padres from the Athletics at the trade deadline, and he struck out 45 of the 83 batters he faced. Miller was even better in the postseason, making two appearances and striking out eight of the nine Chicago Cubs he faced in the Wild Card Series.
Miller has also gained a reputation for his velocity, which is off the charts. He threw the fastest pitch in baseball last year, a fastball that hit 104.5 mph, as he punched Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.
The move isn’t all sunshine and roses, however. One of the reasons the Padres had the strongest bullpen in the majors last year was the depth, so someone will have to step up to fill Miller’s slot as the best setup man in baseball. In theory reliever Jason Adam makes sense, but Adam is coming off surgery for a torn quad and his status for Opening Day is in question.
The hope is that another receiver will perform well enough to restores at least some of the bullpen depth, and Preller is still talking about acquiring another starting pitcher. Stammen and pitching coach Ruben Niebla are going to have to do a juggling act with the bullpen, especially early on if the roster stays as currently constituted.
It will also be interesting to see how often Stammen succumbs to the temptation to use Miller for four- and five-out saves. Miller’s performance last year indicates that he’s more than capable of doing that, but going to that well too often means running the risk overextending Miller.
Meanwhile, Stammen expects Miller to extend the Padres tradition of great closers, which includes the likes of Rollie Fingers and Trevor Hoffman.
“He fits right in,” Stammen said. “He’s going to carry on that tradition.”