| A. J. Preller | |
|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | |
| President of baseball operations andgeneral manager | |
| Born: (1977-06-20)June 20, 1977 (age 48) New York City, U.S. | |
| Teams | |
A. J. Preller (born June 20, 1977) is an American professionalbaseball executive who is thepresident of baseball operations andgeneral manager of theSan Diego Padres ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He was hired by the Padres on August 5, 2014, while serving as the assistant general manager for theTexas Rangers, overseeing the player development and scouting departments and serving as a key advisor on all player acquisitions. At the time, he was 37 years old.[1]
Preller was born on June 20, 1977, inNew York City, to parents Arthur and Joan. He grew up inSouth Huntington, New York, onLong Island. He attendedWalt Whitman High School, where he graduated in 1995.[2]
He attendedCornell University, where he metJon Daniels,[3][4] and graduated summa cum laude with aB.S. degree in 1999.[5] After graduation, he served as an intern with thePhiladelphia Phillies before joining the front office of theLos Angeles Dodgers, and also worked for Major League Baseball.[6]
In 2004, Preller was hired as Director of International and Professional Scouting by the Texas Rangers. While at Cornell, he was a fraternity brother of former Texas Rangers general managerJon Daniels.[7] Preller reached the position of assistant GM with the Rangers before leaving for San Diego.
On August 6, 2014, theSan Diego Padres announced the hiring of Preller as their new general manager. His hiring concluded a six-week process that commenced on June 22 after San Diego dismissedJosh Byrnes following a two-plus year tenure, with Preller agreeing to a five-year deal.[8] The Padres also interviewedKim Ng,Billy Eppler, andMike Hazen. Preller made numerous transactions over the 2014-2015 offseason in what came to be known as "Prellerpalooza." He tradedYasmani Grandal to theLos Angeles Dodgers forMatt Kemp andTim Federowicz. He partook in a three team trade forWil Myers andRyan Hanigan, surrendering five players (includingTrea Turner) in the process. He traded prospects to theBraves forJustin Upton. He signedJames Shields to a 4-year contract. He made several smaller moves as well, as he launched the Padres into playoff talks before the season began. He concluded the offseason by trading for Braves closerCraig Kimbrel just hours before the season opened on April 5.
Despite his off-season trades, the Padres in June 2015 were still underperforming. This was one of many factors that led to the firing of managerBud Black on June 15, 2015.
On September 15, 2016, Preller was suspended for 30 days by MLB without pay for failing to disclose medical information, regarding the trade that sentDrew Pomeranz to theRed Sox.[9]
On December 3, 2017, Preller was given a 3-year extension to remain as the Padres general manager.[10]
In 2018, MLB Pipeline ranked the Padres farm system No. 1 with seven prospects among their top 100 prospects:Fernando Tatís Jr. (No. 8),MacKenzie Gore (No. 19),Luis Urías (No. 36),Cal Quantrill (No. 40),Michel Báez (No. 42),Adrian Morejón (No. 50), andAnderson Espinoza (No. 89).[11]
On February 19, 2018, the Padres signedEric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144 million contract, the largest in club history at the time.[12] On February 21, 2019, the Padres signedManny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract, at the time the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.[13]
In 2020, the Padres went 37–23, finishing with a winning record for the first time since 2010. They went on to the playoffs, marking their first postseason appearance since 2006 and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the2020 National League Wild Card Series, their first postseason series win since the1998 NLCS.
On February 2, 2021, the Padres extended Preller through the 2026 season and promoted him to president of baseball operations.[14] On February 17, the Padres extended Tatís to a 14-year, $340 million contract, at the time the third-biggest deal in MLB history.[15] On November 1, 2021, the Padres announcedBob Melvin would be the team's new manager, replacing the firedJayce Tingler.[16]
On August 2, 2022, Preller completed a blockbuster trade with theWashington Nationals forRight fielderJuan Soto andFirst basemanJosh Bell. In exchange, the Nationals receivedLuke Voit and top prospectsCJ Abrams,MacKenzie Gore,Robert Hassell III,James Wood, andJarlin Susana. On December 9, 2022, Preller signed longtimeBoston Red SoxShortstopXander Bogaerts to an 11-year 280 million contract.
In March 2023,Diamond Sports Group, the parent company toBally Sports, filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to make a $140 million interest payment.[17] The Padres were one of two teams whom Bally entered into grace periods for making their payments, with MLB itself taking over broadcasting operations and paying the Padres 80% of their contracted TV revenue.[18] After the conclusion of the 2023 season in which the Padres missed the playoffs despite a strong run differential, it was revealed that the Padres took out a $50 million loan to cover payroll for the final part of the season.[19] Shortly after that, Padres chairmanPeter Seidler died. The TV deal fallout paired with ownership uncertainty resulted in the Padres deciding to shed financial commitments in the 2023-24 offseason. With Juan Soto projected to make north of $30 million in his final year of arbitration,[20] Preller and the Padres put Soto on the trade bloc. Despite Soto's status as a star player, his lone remaining year of team control and high-end salary limited his market to only a few big market clubs. Ultimately, Preller traded Soto andTrent Grisham to theNew York Yankees in exchange forMichael King,Drew Thorpe,Randy Vásquez,Jhony Brito, andKyle Higashioka.
| Preceded by | San Diego PadresGeneral Manager 2014-present | Succeeded by current |