How Padres Can Turn Mason Miller Into Tarik Skubal, The Hard Way

[TomCent]

The start of 2026 is fast approaching, and the San Diego Padres still haven't made the blockbuster trade(s) that were teased/threatened during the Winter Meetings. That inaction has created a vacuum in the fan realm. Usually, it gets filled with trade ideas that would make every team involved say "no."

But until Padres president A.J. Preller decides whether he is or isn't moving Nick Pivetta, Mason Miller and anyone else who has been in the rumor mill this month, people will keep using the interwebs to fire off proposals that totally aren't fleece jobs in the Friars' favor.

But what if I told you I have three wild ideas that can be rolled into one multi-team swap that would help everyone involved? And that I can actually defend it? (Save the eye rolls and hate until you get to the end.)

With that, and against the opinions of podcasters and pundits who know better (I see you, Erik Kratz), here's what I've devised:

TRADE No. 1: Padres and Mets

PADRES GET:
RHP Kodai Senga
INF Ronny Mauricio
SS/OF Jett Williams (Mets' No. 4 prospect, No. 51 overall prospect per Baseball America)
LHP Jonathan Santucci (Mets' No. 10 prospect)

METS GET:
RHP Mason Miller
OF Ramon Laureano

Why the deal makes sense for the Padres: It capitalizes on two sell-high opportunities AND helps to set up a much larger trade.

Last year, Miller cost the Padres their top prospect, shortstop Leo De Vries, in a deadline deal. At the moment, he's the team's closer, but Jeremiah Estrada is still around. Miller is 27 and controllable for the next four seasons. His trade value remains sky-high.

In 2025, Laureano revived his career as a 30-year-old with the Orioles and Padres. He enjoyed a solid a post-deadline run in San Diego (.812 OPS, nine home runs in 198 plate appearances). He may never be more tradeable, even though the Padres don't have a ready replacement for him.

Kratz said on the "Foul Territory" podcast that the Padres should offload Xander Bogaerts' contract if they're serious about trading Miller. That might be needed in a real trade, but here, it isn't.

Senga, 33 in January, is a question mark because of injuries and the fact he was demoted to the minors in the middle of a playoff race last year. But his rookie season of 2023 (2.98 ERA/3.63 FIP, 29.1 strikeout percentage in 166 1/3 innings) and contract (two years, $28 million, club option for 2028 based on health) will tease teams. Our @Randy Holt wrote this month that, on paper, a Senga trade to the Padres makes sense; this would be one way to make that happen.

Mauricio, 24, is a switch hitter with light-tower power from the left side, but he's still catching up physically two years after suffering a major knee injury. The Athletic's Will Sammon reported this week the Mets are "open to moving" him, along with fellow infielders Mark Vientos and Luisangel Acuna. Sammon also reported the return "matters quite a bit" to the Mets in any trades they may make. Dare we say, Miller would make it worth their while? 

In real life, Mauricio could take over at second base for the Pads, but in this hypothetical, he isn't staying. Neither are Williams, who was the Mets' top prospect and a top-30 player not long ago, or Santucci, who made it to Double-A in his first pro season in 2025 and impressed there.

Now, on to what you could call the Pivetta Pivot.

TRADE No. 2: Padres and Orioles

PADRES GET:
1B Ryan Mountcastle
OF Nate George (Orioles' No. 4 prospect, No. 78 overall)
RHP Trey Gibson

ORIOLES GET:
RHP Nick Pivetta and cash

Why the deal makes sense for the Padres: San Diego would fill a need on the infield and move a pitcher who is likely in the final year of his contract. They'd also add trade capital for the deal that comes next in this exercise.

Pivetta, 33, in February, was at his best in 2025 (career highs with 181 2/3 innings pitched and 190 strikeouts; a 3.49 FIP/2.87 ERA; a 19-12 team record in his starts). He's the most reliable rotation option at the moment. But he'll also be making $19 million in 2026, and he has a player option for 2027; another good year would set him up well in a free-agent SP class that is expected to be loaded.

Mountcastle, 29 in February, is a natural first baseman, unlike the converted middle infielders who have occupied the position recently in San Diego. He's a power threat who's entering his walk year following an injury-marred 2025. He also should be eminently available -- the O's are stacked at first base and DH with Pete Alonso, Tyler O'Neill, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo.

George, 19, reached High-A ball last year in his first pro season and slashed .291/.380/.392 in 21 games there. Pretty good work for a 16th-round draft pick out of high school. Gibson, 23, is a power arm who struggled in his first go-round at Triple-A. 

Two down, one to go. That leaves the least realistic trade of the lot, but it's a deal that still works because of the returns from the first two trades. 

TRADE No. 3: Padres and Tigers

PADRES GET:
Tarik Skubal
PTBNL

TIGERS GET:
Mauricio
Williams
Santucci
George
Gibson
LHP Kash Mayfield (Padres' No. 4 prospect)

Why this deal makes sense for the Padres: Skubal, even as a rental, is all that needs to be said, but let's expand on that: The prospect cost would be minimal, for once. Mayfield is the lone San Diego farmhand going to the Tigers in this scenario. Preller would flip the young players and minor leaguers that the Mets and Orioles provided.

Dealing a first-rounder like Mayfield would be difficult, but it would also be on-brand.

The left-hander was babied a bit in his first pro campaign. He mostly pitched once a week and logged just 60 2/3 innings over 19 appearances (all starts) for Low-A Lake Elsinore. He missed three weeks in May and June with shoulder discomfort. But when he was on the mound, he was good: 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings, a 3.14 K:BB ratio and 0.3 home runs per nine (in the California League!).

Detroit needs to be overwhelmed to move its Cy Young-winning ace. A half-dozen players of this caliber could maybe make Tigers president Scott Harris think for a second: a young starting infielder, two top-100 hitters and three potential frontline starters in exchange for Skubal's walk season. In truth, this is probably too much for one year of the southpaw, but we're in the business of excess in this exercise.

In the end, the Padres' portion of all this would be Skubal, Senga and Mountcastle for Pivetta, Miller, Laureano and Mayfield. 

Preller could actually make the first two trades separately, give or take a few names, if the Orioles aren't content with just adding Shane Baz. We've written previously that he should be trying to backfill the farm system after dealing more than a dozen high-level prospects over the past three years.

And, yes, if he's offering Miller in trades, he could just make him the centerpiece of a potential trade for Skubal.

The counter is that, in this scenario, Preller would stay true to his all-in M.O. by obtaining an elite starter and rotation depth, but without gutting the farm once more.

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