Bleacher Report's Mason Miller trade proposal makes zero sense for Yankees or A's

A desperate team looking to quickly spark a rebuild should be more than willing to trade a potentially elite reliever, even if said arm has 5.5 years of cheap control remaining. After all, there's no position in the game that carries a higher variance, and with high velocity comes predictable breakdown.

But forget a "desperate" team. What about the Oakland A's, who are currently operating without a guiding light of any kind? They'll be rooted in Sacramento next year. Theoretically, at some point, they'll be heading to Las Vegas. Do they want to compete when they arrive on the Strip? Before then? Never? A team looking to cash in a top trade chip, presumably, has a purpose behind the splash. It's very difficult to predict whether the A's would want to reload, reload again, and get stuck on a loading screen as their ballpark is or is not built in the baking sun.

Mason Miller's emergence as baseball's best closer could be seen as an opportunity dropped from above for a team stuck in stasis mode. The A's could earn some good PR from keeping their reliever through his rise while bracing themselves for a potential fall -- but when has seeking good PR ever been their motivation?

If Oakland's going to sell Miller, they'd better get a life-changing haul. Which is why Bleacher Report's proposed Yankees trade package feels light, despite featuring the Yankees' Nos. 3-5 prospects in Roderick Arias, Chase Hampton (currently injured), and Everson Pereira, whose big-league cameo was bleak in 2024.

Why would Oakland commit to a package highlighted by so much uncertainty -- especially Hampton, who's yet to appear in 2024? And, conversely, why would the Yankees sell two high-ceiling options in Arias and Hampton for a reliever, something they manufacture in spades (and something that carries an immediate injury risk, especially in this day and age)?

Why would Yankees trade three top prospects for Mason Miller? And why would the Oakland A's accept it?

Pereira for Ryan Helsley. Take it or leave it.

The 25-year-old Miller, previously a floundering starter at Gardner-Webb University, has been a revelation this season (after, yes, shaking off UCL damage in 2023). His 38 Ks and 0.655 WHIP in 18 1/3 innings prove he's been able to harness his 104 MPH cheddar effectively, staying mostly in the zone, and looking unhittable while doing it.

Whoever trades for Miller -- if the A's decide to press the panic button -- will be receiving baseball's best reliever, and will hold the rights to him for a very long time. How long he'll qualify as the game's greatest, though, remains up for debate.

The Yankees shouldn't be afraid to make any and all of the names mentioned available via trade, but they'd be better served trading less for a rental reliever who can induce whiffs, not cashing in all their trade chips on a one-inning option. The A's? There might not be a trade package big enough to really make this move make sense -- but don't count them out of inexplicably settling for less anyway.