"We don't like the Dodgers" - Mason Miller gets real about Padres being brutally honest on intense rivalry with reigning WS champs 

Mason Miller, who was traded to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline, made his feelings clear on what he was told about their NL West rivals, the LA Dodgers, after he joined the club. Miller, along with JP Sears, was traded to the Padres by the Athletics, who received Leo De Vries, Braden Nett, Eduarniel Núñez and Henry Baez in exchange.

Miller, who has only played for the A's until now, has been a part of rivalries in the AL West, but they come nowhere near to what the Dodgers and Padres have in the NL West. Speaking about it, Miller made his stance clear on the rivalry while also clarifying that the Padres' clubhouse doesn't like the Dodgers at all.

"They told me right away, ‘We don't like those guys a whole lot,'" Miller said on "The Foul Territory" show. "I haven’t really had a rivalry to that extent. You know, they play the Mariners, play the Astros, a lot of close games, and, you know, we want to win those more than others. But not a rivalry in the sense of, you know, the Padres and the Dodgers."

Miller added that he's looking forward to being part of this intense rivalry:

"So I’m excited to experience that. Definitely going to be a lot of eye-opening experiences going forward, just playing in front of all these fans and in these big rivalry games that mean so much."

Padres GM explains aggressive pursuit of Mason Miller

For most of the offseason, Padres general manager AJ Preller remained silent. However, after the season started, Preller was on the lookout for how to make his team better.

He made several notable acquisitions at the trade deadline, and reliever Mason Miller was one of them which he made an aggressive push for.

"He's a super talented pitcher," Preller told The Athletic's Dennis Lin. "And I think ... the focus now is, go do his job that he's been so good at doing in the bullpen and help us win a championship."

Miller is one of the top relievers in the MLB right now. He earned the save on his Padres debut against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"If we have an opportunity to shorten the game, you want to take that," Preller added.

For the season, Miller is 20 of 23 in save opportunities while posting a 3.66 ERA. He is expected to provide a good, high-leverage arm with Robert Suarez at the back end of the innings.