Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller has been one of the best pitchers in baseball on a team that has no use for players who are the best at anything.
The 25-year-old righty has 15 saves in 17 opportunities this year, twirling 40.2 innings for a sterling 0.836 WHIP and 2.21 ERA with 70 strikeouts on 14 walks (three of which were intentional). He also just threw the fastest recorded pitch in All-Star Game history.
On a tanking Oakland team with the fourth-worst record in baseball (41-63), Miller is also the embodiment of the Bugatti parked in at a mobile home meme.
But fear not because MLB’s July 30 trade deadline is nearly here and certainly a high-profile closer under long-term club control will be among the hottest names discussed by contenders. All Miller has to do between now and then is just stay healthy and he’ll get to pitch the prime of his career on a World Series contender and OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, COME ON!
The Oakland A’s have placed right-handed pitcher Mason Miller on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 23 with a broken left hand and reinstated right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling from the injured list.
— Oakland A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) July 25, 2024
Initial reports from Oakland claimed the closer was hurt “pounding” a padded table, per MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos in a since-deleted tweet. But before you imagine this as Miller injuring himself with his own punch (which only last happened two weeks ago), you should know the reality is actually a lot dumber.
Gallegos clarified Miller simply placed his hand down awkwardly while preparing to do an exercise and fractured his left (non-throwing) pinky. Which, yeah, that actually sounds a lot more like something that would happen to an A’s player.
Important clarification on Mason Miller injury: he did not pound the table out of frustration. He put his hand down awkwardly on the training table while getting ready to do an exercise. https://t.co/BrjZHl94PB
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) July 25, 2024
This whole scene is turning into a pretty apt metaphor for the current state of the franchise.
The price for Miller on the trade market was reportedly astronomical to begin with, but buyers have a way of convincing themselves to pay big price tags every year. It’s hard to imagine Oakland getting everything it wants for a player on the injured list — especially when he’s just as likely to be available next year at a lesser cost, too.
Here’s hoping Miller heals quickly and some team looks past this incident because his arm is just way too good to be hanging out in a stadium where even the padded tables are out to get you.
