Cubs will have to assemble a costly package to pull off a Mason Miller blockbuster

The Chicago Cubs have made it. Not to their ultimate goal, of course, but to the All-Star break - and in decent shape given the epic string of injuries that ravaged the pitching staff and the lack of production from their big offseason additions.

Chicago enters the break just five games back of the Brewers in the NL Central - the closest they've been to their hated rival since May - and in control of the top wild card spot in the National League. Now, the pressure is on Jed Hoyer and the front office to add impactful reinforcements to the pitching staff in the weeks to come.

There are few trade additions the Cubs could make that would be more impactful than acquiring San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller, who earned the second All-Star selection of his career this season after posting a 0.91 ERA and 0.53 WHIP across a league-leading 34 appearances. But landing such a talent would come at a steep cost - one that Cubs fans and, potentially, Hoyer himself may not love.

Miller can be controlled through arbitration for three more years past this season, making him a wildly valuable commodity not only for what he can bring to a team in 2026 but for years to come. The Cubs' bullpen woes speak for themselves, and adding the most lockdown closer in the game to the back of that mix would be a game-changer as the team looks to punch a second consecutive postseason ticket.

Cubs send a boatload of talent back in hypothetical Mason Miller trade

Going the other way in the deal, we have utilityman Matt Shaw - who finds himself without an everyday role this year, but could slot into a corner outfield spot should Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ both depart in free agency at season's end, as expected. It was in the not-so-distant past that he was viewed as a consensus top-100 prospect, and the Padres could afford to give him the runway he's lacked for much of his time with the Cubs.

Given how light, organizationally speaking, Chicago is on high-upside pitching, trading Jaxon Wiggins - the team's best pitching prospect - would be a cardinal sin to many. Still, he's the only arm that might entice AJ Preller and give San Diego a near-MLB-ready pitching piece back in the deal (not to mention, a top-100 prospect). He's paired with Mason McGwire, a mid-level pitching prospect and son of former Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, so at least all the Padres' eggs aren't in the Wiggins basket.

Rounding out the deal is infielder James Triantos, who has long been lauded as one of the best contact talents in the minors. He's defensively versatile and, while far from the sexiest name on this list, could be a nice plug-and-play piece for the Padres long-term.

This thought exercise, really, just serves as a demonstration of how valuable Miller is - and the lengths the Cubs would have to be willing to go to acquire him. You're not just coming off a top prospect in this deal; Preller needs to recoup value in what he gave up to get him last summer - and if you're not ready to help him do that, he'll find someone else who will.

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