Having lockdown arms in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings is certainly the ideal for any major league team, but it's the Athletics who have been thriving out of the bullpen even after shipping one of the game's best in Mason Miller to the San Diego Padres at the 2025 trade deadline. Since the A's traded Mason Miller last July: A's bullpen ERA - 3.39, 3rd in MLB Miller - 0.96 ERA, 2nd in MLB pic.twitter.com/Hag3Bvmcsk — Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) April 29, 2026 In return, the A's landed a package headlined by Pipeline's No. 4 prospect in baseball, Leo De Vries, who made it to Double-A, joining rare company in doing so as an 18-year-old. This season he's batting .303 with a .383 on-base percentage and an .871 OPS, already making his case for a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. He could be in Sacramento this season . What the A's have built without Miller has been impressive. Following Wednesday's game against the Royals, the A's have now played 81 games — exactly half a season — since the Miller deal.…