Padres Lose Closer Mason Miller for Game 3 as Paternity List Allows 3 Days Off

Q: Did a grueling 40-pitch collapse secretly make this closer's sudden playoff paternity leave a strategic blessing for his team?

Probably yes in the short term, but only incidentally. Mason Miller’s playoff paternity leave was clearly driven by family circumstances, not strategy. Still, from a baseball standpoint, his absence in Game 3 may have spared San Diego from asking too much of a reliever who had just thrown roughly 40 high-stress pitches in a Game 2 collapse. Multiple reports noted he was unlikely to be available for more than one inning anyway, and after a six-out save attempt that ended with three walks and a walk-off single, there were real workload and command concerns. That does not make losing him a net positive. Miller was the Padres’ best bullpen arm all season, with a 1.67 ERA, 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings, and he had been dominant in the Wild Card Series. His Game 2 meltdown looked more like an outlier than evidence he was unusable. There was also speculation that Milwaukee may have detected a pitch tip, but that remains unconfirmed. What made the timing less damaging is San Diego’s bullpen depth. Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, Bradgley Rodriguez and Yuki Matsui gave the Padres credible late-inning alternatives, and Wandy Peralta added another left-handed option after being activated. If any team could absorb one game without its closer, it was probably this one. So the leave may have functioned as a temporary strategic blessing by forcing rest after an exhausting outing, but only in a narrow sense. Overall, the Padres still lost an elite weapon in an elimination game.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 7

Mason Miller was placed on MLB’s paternity list 45 minutes before San Diego’s win-or-go-home NLDS Game 3 against Milwaukee, ruling the Padres’ closer out of the elimination game.
MLB postseason rules allow up to three days away for paternity leave, and San Diego replaced Miller on the active roster with veteran left-hander Wandy Peralta.
The absence hits after Miller’s rough Game 2 finish: he blew a six-out save chance and allowed Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single with two outs and two strikes in the ninth.
If the Padres extend the series, Miller can immediately reclaim his roster spot upon return, leaving San Diego to navigate its most critical game without its top bullpen arm.