We’re officially entering “crazy trade proposal” season, and things just got a little spicy. Despite sitting seven games below .500, the Atlanta Braves might not be waving the white flag just yet. In fact, they could be buying at the deadline. The catch is that any move has to serve a dual purpose: help now and build for 2026.
Team Control is the Name of the Game
You’re going to hear the term “team control” a lot between now and the trade deadline, especially when it comes to Atlanta. The front office isn’t in the mood to rent. They’re in the market for players who can help immediately and stick around past October, because whether or not 2025 ends in a playoff push, they’re building something bigger.
Enter Mason Miller, the Athletics’ electric closer who was a breakout All-Star last year. Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller dropped an “outrageous” trade proposal involving Atlanta and the hard-throwing righty over the weekend. While it may raise a few eyebrows, it’s worth unpacking.
Mason Miller: The Pricey but Powerful Upgrade
Mason Miller’s 2025 stat line isn’t quite the flamethrower fantasy it was in 2024—his ERA has jumped to 4.55 and his WHIP has crept up, too—but he’s still striking out hitters by the dozen and piling up saves in Oakland. And most importantly, he’d bring something Atlanta desperately lacks: a Plan A, B, and C for the ninth inning.
Because let’s talk about Raisel Iglesias. The Braves’ closer has been teetering on disaster all season. With a 5.28 ERA and 1.370 WHIP in 33 games, he’s far from the shutdown guy he was just a year ago when he was posting sub-2.00 numbers and making life easy in the late innings. But this year? Every outing feels like a high-wire act with no net.
Kerry Miller’s point is a fair one. Iglesias is in the final year of his contract and not getting results, and Atlanta doesn’t exactly have a stable of closers waiting in the wings. Mason Miller, despite his inflated ERA, would walk into the clubhouse as the best pure bullpen arm on the roster—and more importantly, he’s under control for years.
The Cost is Painful For Braves, but Maybe Necessary
Now, the “outrageous” part comes into play when you see what Bleacher Report thinks it would take to land Miller. The proposal? Atlanta sends three pitching prospects—Drue Hackenberg (No. 4), Lucas Braun (No. 9), and Rolddy Muñoz (No. 20)—to Oakland. That’s a heavy package. These are arms with real upside, and losing Hackenberg alone would sting.
But the Braves have done business with the A’s before—and often come out smiling. Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Tim Hudson, Nick Allen—all came via trades with Oakland. If any front office knows how to navigate a deal with the A’s, it’s Atlanta’s.
The question is whether this front office sees 2025 and 2026 as real contending years, or if they’re looking at this season’s mediocrity and thinking it’s time to hoard prospects. If they do believe the window is still open, a guy like Miller—young, electric, controllable—checks every box.
So, is this trade outrageous? Maybe. But outrageous trades have built this Braves core before. And if you’re going to swing big, this might be the time to start warming up.
