Padres Mason Miller taking reported Yankees trade interest as compliment ahead of deadline

PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees are frequently looking for relief help, always competitive and have the wherewithal to add at the very top of the market.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

So Mason Miller has heard the rumors and reports — though more last year than this year, he said — that the Yankees would be interested in landing him in a blockbuster.“The rumors are what they are,” Miller said at Monday’s All-Star media day at Citizens Bank Park.“The Yankees are a good team, and they’re obviously a team that is going to add most years.

I think it’s just a compliment in a way that good teams are interested in good players.”There is every reason to believe that the Yankees are interested in Miller, though there is doubt whether he reaches the trade block (and if so, the price tag would be astronomical).In an era of flamethrowers, Miller burns brightest with a fastball that has averaged 101.3 mph this season.That he throws his slider more often — a pitch that has yielded an .079 batting average — seems unfair.He would fit nicely in a shaky Yankees bullpen and push David Bednar to setup duties.Miller has saved 25 games and pitched to a 0.91 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 39 ²/₃ innings for the Padres, who have been carried by the back of their bullpen but sit at 48-48 and 3 ¹/₂ games back of the final NL wild card.Trading the 27-year-old, who cannot be a free agent until after the 2029 season, would fetch an immense haul for the Padres, who know this well: In 2025, they sent a four-prospect package that was led by shortstop Leo De Vries (who at the time was the No.3 prospect in the entire minor leagues) to the A’s for the closer.Would San Diego president of baseball operations A.J.

Preller, among the most aggressive in the business, seek to replenish his prospect reserves and sell Miller if the team does not tick up?“It’s kind of fru...