Mason Miller is right in the middle of the National League wild-card race as a member of the San Diego Padres, but he was reportedly almost part of the same race with a different team.

The San Diego Padres landed Mason Miller from the Athletics in a deadline blockbuster, which also included JP Sears and infield prospect Leo De Vries. But the deal wasn't the Athletics' first choice for a potential Miller trade.

The San Diego Padres offloaded a huge package to land Mason Miller from the Athletics at the MLB trade deadline. It was the biggest deal of the deadline, and it stunned the baseball world, as A.J. Preller gave up top prospect Leo De Vries, ranked 3rd by MLB Pipeline at the time of the trade.