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Padres: We praised A.J. Preller way too soon for bold trade decisions

By Mark Powell

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: General Manager A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres makes a call after a game between the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres was postponed at PETCO Park on August 26, 2020 in San Diego, California. Several sporting leagues across the nation today are postponing their schedules as players protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: General Manager A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres makes a call after a game between the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres was postponed at PETCO Park on August 26, 2020 in San Diego, California. Several sporting leagues across the nation today are postponing their schedules as players protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The San Diego Padres are fighting for the second Wild Card spot, and could miss the playoffs altogether. Bold trades by A.J. Preller didn’t help matters.

Preller has gone all-in the last two seasons, with it seemingly paying off (at least originally). Yet, a closer look at some of those decisions shows a general manager who swung, and largely missed as of late.

While said trades could eventually pay off in the long run, his inability to make the right moves, and instead acquire big names who have faltered in large moments, could cost the Padres a playoff berth.

Still, Preller doesn’t have many regrets despite that laundry list of acquired talents that haven’t worked out in San Diego.

San Diego Padres: AJ Preller doesn’t regret trades

“But just to make a deal to kind of Band-Aid something, I don’t look back now and say, ‘We really should have done that.’ If we could have improved the team and a deal that made sense, we were going do it. … We just didn’t get that starting pitcher that made sense. I don’t look back on it right now and say, ‘Yeah, we really should have made a deal that wasn’t going to make sense because we knew this was a possibility.’ We need our guys to step up and start pitching and performing like they’re capable (of),” Preller added, per the San Diego Tribune.

Trading for the likes of Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove, among others, were universally praised at the time. Until they leave San Diego, there is still the potential for a turnaround.

But at the moment, the Dodgers adding, say, a Max Scherzer and Trea Turner while directly competing with the Pads is a clear loss for Preller. Meanwhile, his so-called “wins” aren’t performing up to par.

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