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Leo De Vries (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Padres GM A.J. Preller has a well-earned reputation as one of the boldest in the game. On Thursday before the MLB trade deadline, he restaked the claim by making another stunning deal that sends one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Leo De Vries, to the Athletics in a package that includes three other pitchers for all-star closer Mason Miller and veteran starter JP Sears.
De Vries currently ranks at No. 5 on the Baseball America Top 100. He is the highest-ranked prospect to be traded since Eloy Jimenez was dealt to the White Sox in the 2017 trade that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs. Jimenez also ranked No. 5 on the BA midseason Top 100 at that time.
Since Baseball America began tracking midseason rankings for these trades in 2014, Jimenez and A’s shortstop Addison Russell (No. 5 in 2014) are the only other Top 10 Prospects traded in July deals. Now, De Vries joins them as the latest high-profile prospect to be dealt away in a trade that will send shockwaves around baseball.
Athletics Receive:
Leo De Vries, SS
Age: 18
Signed for $4.2 million out of the Dominican Republic in January 2024, De Vries made waves as he skipped over both complex levels and made his debut at 17 years old with Low-A Lake Elsinore. De Vries struggled at first but found his footing later in July, finishing with a .238/.361/.442 line, 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 75 games. De Vries participated in the Arizona Fall League last season and was assigned to High-A Fort Wayne to begin 2025.
Over 79 games with the TinCaps this season, De Vries is hitting .244/.352/.401 with seven home runs and eight steals. The switch-hitting shortstop shows advanced plate skills and good angles on contact. At present, he lacks average-or-better raw power, but his projectable frame hints at future above-average pop.
Like many young Padres prospects, De Vries is difficult to fully evaluate because he’s playing at a level far beyond his peers. As the clear No. 1 prospect in the Padres’ system, there are scouts who view him as a perennial all-star with a chance to be one of the best players in the game. Even so, there are underlying issues that will have to be cleared up for him to reach that lofty ceiling.
Defensively, he’s considered a pure shortstop with the fluidity and body control to be an above-average to plus defender.
Braden Nett, RHP
Age: 23
Nett is a fantastic scouting story. The righthander pitched collegiately at St. Charles JC in Missouri but went undrafted. He pitched the MLB Draft League afterward, and the Padres signed him as a free agent. Almost immediately, Nett showed big stuff that could flourish with time and patience.
He’s been one of the bigger stars of the system in 2025, and had racked up 86 strikeouts in 74.1 innings at the time of the trade. He ranked as San Diego’s No. 7 prospect in BA’s most updated Top 30 lists.
Nett works with a five-pitch mix fronted by a four-seam fastball that can reach as high as 98 mph. He backs it with a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. The cutter and slider are his most frequently-thrown offspeed pitches, and each has garnered miss rates of better than 30% in games tracked by Synergy Sports.
Eduarniel Nuñez, RHP
Age: 26
The Padres signed Nuñez as a minor league free agent this offseason, and the righthander responded with a strong performance for Triple-A El Paso. Nuñez, No. 14 in the Padres’ Top 30, was added to the Padres 40-man roster on July 2, and he made his MLB debut on the same day. He made four appearances earlier this month with the Padres before being was optioned back to Triple-A on July 11.
Nuñez throws three pitches, led by a plus fastball that sits 97-99 mph and touches triple digits at peak. His best secondary is an upper-80s slider that drives swings and misses and is his go-to put-away pitch. Nuñez will also flash a curveball in the mid 80s, but it’s rarely used. Strike-throwing and command remain a hurdle for Nuñez but he does feature high-leverage type stuff.
Henry Báez, RHP
Age: 22
Báez, who ranked as the Padres’ No. 16 prospect, only threw in the mid 80s when the Padres signed him for $125,000 in 2019. But he had the room to fill out, and he quickly added 20 points of good weight. Soon, he was topping 90 mph, and his velocity has kept growing to the point where he now sits in the mid 90s as a starter.
Báez has a fastball-heavy approach. While that 93-95 mph fastball doesn’t have exceptional movement characteristics, it plays because he has above-average control and command of it, allowing him to spot it to all four quadrants of the strike zone. He also throws a 77-79 mph curve that sometimes morphs into a slurve. It generates misses and chases, but it could use a bit more power. His split-change is a potentially above-average pitch. He’s throwing his sinker much more regularly this year, which is a better fit for his pitch mix.
Báez was added to the 40-man roster last offseason and can be expected to compete for a spot in the Athletics’ rotation in 2026.
Padres Receive:
Mason Miller, RHP
Age: 26
After debuting as a starter in 2023, Miller made a seamless transition to the bullpen, quickly emerging as one of the most electrifying closers in MLB. Armed with a blistering fastball that consistently sits between 98–101 mph and has touched 104, the righthander became a nightmare for hitters in the late innings.
Across 136.2 career innings, Miller has posted a 3.16 ERA with 201 strikeouts, leaning heavily on the sheer velocity and explosive life of his heater. He pairs his fastball with a sharp, late-breaking slider that keeps hitters off balance, especially when they’re hunting velocity. The contrast between the two offerings makes him exceptionally difficult to square up and a true weapon at the back end of the bullpen.
Unlike most big league players moved at the deadline, Miller remains under team control through 2029 and is set to enter his first year of arbitration after this season. He also brings added versatility, with experience starting at both the major and minor league levels.
Reports have surfaced suggesting there’s interest in stretching him back out as a starter—a move that could further elevate the long-term value of the trade. But even if he stays in the bullpen, acquiring a proven, high-octane closer with multiple years of control is a rare asset and an immediate difference-maker for the Padres.
JP Sears, LHP
Age: 29
Sears has proven to be a durable and reliable midrotation starter for the A’s. Acquired from the Yankees in 2022, he is 7-9, 4.95 this year with a 4.95 FIP, as well. He’s an innings-eater who has thrown 170-plus each of the past two seasons, and he’s on pace to reach that again this year.
By modern standards, Sears is a soft-tosser. He sits at 91-93 mph with his four-seam fastball, and he relies just as heavily on a 78-80 mph sweeper, low-80s changeup and a low-80s slider that isn’t dramatically different from his sweeper. He’ll also mix in a sinker sporadically.
Everything largely works because of plus command and control. Getting away from the home run emporium that is the Athletics’ temporary Sacramento home should help Sears, too. He’s 3-5, 5.48 at home and 4-4, 4.55 on the road this year. Batters hit .273/.337/.583 against him in Sacramento and only .247/.289/.421 on the road.
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