It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings. In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership. The same can hold true of major extensions. It’s just tough to know from the outside.
There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well. But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.
In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game. We’ve already covered the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, the White Sox’ Rick Hahn, the Tigers’ Al Avila and the Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos. We’ll now turn our focus to the Padres’ A.J. Preller, whom the club hired late in the 2014 season. As you’ll see below, nobody can accuse Preller of sitting on his hands. Unfortunately for him and the Padres, the abundant trades Preller has swung haven’t yet led to any real progress in the standings for the long-suffering franchise (deals are in chronological order and exclude minor moves; full details at transaction link).
2014-15 Offseason
- Acquired OF Matt Kemp and C Tim Federowicz from Dodgers for C Yasmani Grandal and RHPs Kyle Wieland and Zach Eflin
- Acquired OF Wil Myers, RHP Gerardo Reyes, LHP Jose Castillo and C Ryan Hanigan for INF Trea Turner, RHPs Joe Ross and Burch Smith, 1B Jake Bauers and C Rene Rivera in three-team trade
- Acquired C Derek Norris, RHP Seth Streich and international bonus slot worth $144,100 from Athletics for RHPs Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez
- Acquired OF Justin Upton and RHP Aaron Northcraft from Braves for LHP Max Fried, OF Mallex Smith, INF Jace Peterson and 3B Dustin Peterson and international bonus compensation
- Acquired 3B Will Middlebrooks from Red Sox for C Ryan Hanigan
- Acquired RHP Shawn Kelley from Yankees for RHP Johnny Barbato
- Acquired RHP Brandon Maurer from Mariners for OF Seth Smith
- Acquired RHP Craig Kimbrel and OF Melvin Upton Jr. from Braves for OFs Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin and Jordan Paroubeck, RHP Matt Wisler and the 41st pick in the 2015 draft
2015 Season
- Acquired RHP Cory Mazzoni and LHP Brad Wieck from Mets for LHP Alex Torres
- Acquired LHP Marc Rzepczynski from Indians for OF Abraham Almonte
- Acquired C/OF Marcus Greene and RHP Jon Edwards from Rangers for OF Will Venable
2015-16 Offseason
- Acquired INF Jose Pirela from Yankees for RHP Ronald Herrera
- Acquired RHP Enyel De Los Santos and INF Nelson Ward from Mariners for RHP Joaquin Benoit
- Acquired OF Manuel Margot, SS Javier Guerra, INF Carlos Asuaje and LHP Logan Allen from Red Sox for Craig Kimbrel
- Acquired LHPs Drew Pomeranz and Jose Torres and OF Jabari Blash from Athletics for 1B Yonder Alonso and LHP Marc Rzepczynski
- Acquired OF Jon Jay from Cardinals for INF Jedd Gyorko
- Acquired RHP Luis Perdomo from Rockies for cash considerations or a player to be named later
- Acquired C Christian Bethancourt from Braves for RHP Casey Kelly and C Ricardo Rodriguez
- Acquired LHP Trevor Seidenberger from Brewers for OF Rymer Liriano
- Acquired RHP Jean Cosme from Orioles for RHP Odrisamer Despaigne
- Acquired RHP Dan Straily from Astros for C Erik Kratz
2016 Season
- Acquired INF Fernando Tatis Jr. and RHP Erik Johnson from White Sox for RHP James Shields
- Acquired RHP Chris Paddack from Marlins for Fernando Rodney
- Acquired RHP Anderson Espinoza from Red Sox for LHP Drew Pomeranz
- Acquired RHP Hansel Rodriguez from Blue Jays for OF Melvin Upton Jr.
- Acquired 1B/OF Josh Naylor and RHPs Luis Castillo, Jarred Cosart and Carter Capps from Marlins for RHPs Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea and Tayron Guerrero
- Acquired INF/OF Hector Olivera from Braves for OF Matt Kemp
- Acquired RHP Colin Rea from Marlins for RHP Luis Castillo (partially undoing prior trade)
- Acquired INF Luis Sardinas from Mariners for cash or a player to be named later
2016-17 Offseason
- Acquired RHP Pedro Avila from Nationals for C Derek Norris
- Acquired RHP Miguel Diaz and C Luis Torrens for INF Josh VanMeter, cash/player to be named later in three-team trade
2017 Season
- Acquired OF Matt Szczur from Cubs for RHP Justin Hancock
- Acquired LHPs Travis Wood and Matt Strahm and INF Esteury Ruiz from Royals for RHPs Trevor Cahill and Brandon Maurer and LHP Ryan Buchter
2017-18 Offseason
- Acquired INF Deion Tansel from Rays for INF Ryan Schimpf
- Acquired 3B Chase Headley and RHP Bryan Mitchell from Yankees for OF Jabari Blash
- Acquired SS Freddy Galvis from Phillies for RHP Enyel De Los Santos
- Acquired OF Edward Olivares and RHP Jared Carkuff from Blue Jays for INF Yangervis Solarte
- Acquired C Brett Nicholas from Rangers for RHP Emmanuel Clase
- Acquired RHP Phil Hughes and the 74th pick in the 2018 draft from Twins for C Janigson Villalobos
- Acquired C Francisco Mejia from Indians for LHP Brad Hand and RHP Adam Cimber
2018-19 Offseason
- Acquired INF Jason Vosler from Cubs for RHP Rowan Wick
- Acquired INF Esteban Quiroz from Red Sox for RHP Colten Brewer
- Acquired RHP Ignacio Feliz from Indians for RHP Walker Lockett
- Acquired OF Conor Panas from Blue Jays for LHP Clayton Richard
- Acquired RHP Matt Wisler from Reds for RHP Diomar Lopez
2019 Season
- Acquired RHP Franklin Van Gurp from Giants for OF Alex Dickerson
- Acquired OF Taylor Trammell for OF Franmil Reyes, LHP Logan Allen and INF Victor Nova in three-team trade
- Acquired RHP Carl Edwards Jr. and $500K in international bonus pool money from Cubs for LHP Brad Wieck
2019-20 Offseason
- Acquired OF Trent Grisham and RHP Zach Davies from Brewers for 2B Luis Urias and LHP Eric Lauer
- Acquired OF Tommy Pham and INF/RHP Jake Cronenworth from Rays for OF Hunter Renfroe and INFs Xavier Edwards and Esteban Quiroz
- Acquired RHP Emilio Pagan from Rays for OF Manuel Margot and C/OF Logan Driscoll
__
That’s a lot of action on the trade market, but has it been effective? (Poll link for app users)
Grade A.J. Preller's trade history
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C 36% (1,988)
-
B 32% (1,775)
-
D 17% (923)
-
A 9% (494)
-
F 6% (350)
Total votes: 5,530
A just for the Tatis trade.
Tatis doesn’t make up for his large sample size of bad moves
The Kimbrel trade to me was decent.
Didn’t give up a lot but ended up trading Kimbrel for something.
But besides that his first off season was questionable. I didn’t understand it at the time.
But the Padres had just received a bunch of revenue with their new TV contact and the ownership wanted a team.
Let’s just say he is improving at the job.
This off-season going to be hit or miss. Tampa isn’t always the best team to deal with
You have to include taking Melvin Upton Jr. as part of what they gave up to acquire Kimbrel. The Braves also got the Padres’ CB-A pick in that trade, which they turned into Austin Riley.
Austin Riley omg he’s off the charts. Preller didn’t get 1 good player for Kimbrel pathetic
what “large” sample size?
the Wil Myers deal? sure but if Castillo can stay healthy and Reyes can command his heat that deal looks a little less bad, especially if preller trades them later down the road as high end relief options..
the Kemp deal is probably worse giving up grandal but eflin hasn’t amounted to much.
other than that he hasn’t dealt anyone of major value outside grandal and turner.
but he’s brought in Tatis jr, Paddack, Strahm, Naylor, Olivares, Avila for next to nothing in terms of what he actually gave up.
Trea Turner, Grandal, Fried, Luis Castillo, Clase, De Los Santos and signed Hosmee and Machado to awful contracts. Theres a reason he is on the hot seat
Fried isn’t a major loss. #3 at best. Padres have a lot of #3 at best pitching.
Lol Castillo? You’re teaching at that point. Castillo was returned after rea got hurt during his 3rd inning with the Marlins. Hardly Prellers fault on that one. Had rea not been hurt Castillo would be a Padres.
De Los Santos is a #4 or #5. Exactly what the Padres have.
Title: GM Trade History
You: He SiGnEd GuYs BaD gM!
Clever. Well thought out. On point. On topic.
Its very relevant to why he is a bad GM and on the hot seat.
Would have been better off releasing Grandal, Wieland and Eflin than trading them for Kemp.
Max Fried would be either the Padres’ #1 or #2 starter right now (depending on who you like better out of him and Paddack).
De los Santos probably won’t amount to much but he was a good prospect when he was traded and like with Kemp, Preller would have been better off releasing de los Santos than trading him for Galvis.
Wrong Max Fried only won 17 last year. Padres could of reworked Castillo deal to keep him
Who knew Kemp was a dog who only played hard for the Dodgers? Kemp even dogged it playing for the Braves, the team he said he grew up following. He didn’t do much for the Reds either. Did you know current Padres minority partner Ron Fowler made his money as a beer distributor, servicing Dodger Stadium because he knew Walter O’Malley personally? Ron is the Padres’ chairman, and he talks into Preller’s ear every day. The article mentions the influence of ownership.
Lol I always wonder, how long have these guys been Padres fans?
The fact is, this is the most exciting time in Padres history. HISTORY. There were flashes in the pan before, even made a couple World Series. But the current and future outlook has never been better.
San Diego sports has never had ownership like this before or a GM that shoots for the stars, and actually grabs a few.
If you don’t recognize that then you aren’t a fan, just a troll.
Fan since 1980. That seems long enough.
It’s hard to argue the Fowler-Seidler group haven’t been the best SD sports owners, period. Ray Kroc toward the end was convinced to spend, but the current group has shown that commitment from Day One.
There have been other daring GMs in San Diego. Kevin Towers, the Gunslinger, was always ready to roll the dice. Bobby Beathard of the Chargers. We’ve yet to see if Preller can actually grab major league stars, anyway.
The outlook for the Padres was better from 1996 through 2007.
1996: Playoffs, first time since 1984
1997: 76-86, better than any Preller-designed team so far.
1998: World Series
1999-2003: The lean years, compounded by Petco delays, but they averaged 72 wins. Again, that’s better than Preller’s squads.
2004: 87 wins, playoff hunt into September.
2005: Playoffs
2006: Playoffs
2007: 89 wins, and didn’t make the playoffs because of the freak Milton Bradley injury.
Over 11 years they made the playoffs four times and played exciting September baseball in two others. Preller needs to make the playoffs four times in the next six years to match that.
They had some good farm systems during that span, too. Some crappy ones, for sure, but at times the Padres were strongly represented in BA’s Top 100:
1999: 6 players
2001: 5
2002: 7
But let’s be honest we knew all of those runs in the early 2000’s were not going to end in a World Series. Now maybe if Towers had this current ownership, then those would of been the most exciting years and they would pull triggers like trading for Finley in 2004 and making a REAL push.
I know this group will make the necessary moves, spend the money to put a winner on the field.
Is the jury still out on Preller? Absolutely. But San Diego has been devoid of stars for a long time, and that is exactly what Machado, Tatis and Paddack are.
The pipeline is juiced with more high ceiling, high risk, prospects that hopefully develop or get flipped for the right pieces. This group would take the Justin Verlander’s instead of the Matt Bush’s of the world.
All this to say, why not have a little faith and look at it as glass half full. I know it’s hard as a San Diego sports fan. But I’m honestly very excited for Padre baseball these next few years and beyond.
Towers couldn’t draft worth anything.
Talk about hindsight. “We” didn’t know any such thing as that the mid-2000s teams couldn’t win the World Series.
St. Louis won the WS in 2006. They went 83-78 in the regular season, winning 5 fewer games than we did. Our offense and pitching were better throughout the regular season. We didn’t have a hitter as good as Pujols (obvs) or a pitcher like Carpenter, but we were deeper on both sides and we did have guys who “could” have caught fire in the playoffs — no reason Peavy couldn’t have matched what Reyes or Weaver did that post-season.
The 07 team was, if anything, better than 06. It would have been almost impossible to beat the Red Sox, but the Rockies at least got there.
Towers couldn’t draft because his owners would not let him draft anyone that would command a large bonus. Remember, Matt Freaking Bush? You think KT didn’t wish he could sign Verlander?
Let’s see if Tatis can stay healthy for a full season before we starting throwing bouquets at him.
Let’s see if Tatis can stay healthy for a full season before we start throwing bouquets at him.
I think the question of grading trades is difficult because we don’t have a rubric for how to measure the trade. Is the standard what could or should have been known at the time or what the end result was regardless of the available information at the time? And to what extent do we consider the team’s place in the win cycle or other factors such as directives from ownership about budget.
For example, if Tatis was a lesser prospect at the time, does Preller get full credit for acquiring him? Or do we assume he had a great eye for value others didn’t see? Do we admire the gamble or think him too brash? If he should have known of Tatis’s injury probabilities, do we subtract credit. And in any case, at the time of the trades, do we have to know more about what the market was. Could he have gotten more for Shields or was that the maximum value on the market?
You can’t give him an A for the Tatis trade alone. That trade only kept it from being an F. Just think how much better the Padres would be if they still had Trea Turner and Max Fried and didn’t have Wil Myers. Why give up Yasmani Grandal for Matt Kemp? And not sure he got enough value for Brad Hand. His trades do appear to get better, but then again the jury is still out for the last couple of seasons.
But an A? No way. I doubt he would be on the hot seat as it appears he is if his grade was an A.
Better how about tone deaf Tommy Pham that clown complaining after shut down about his contract he’s a loser
Preller got Paddack for 39 year old Fernando Rodney. Yes, Preller got Tatis for Shields, but he only traded Shields because the Padres chairman and minority owner was ragging on him for being paid as an ace and not pitching like one, though he still was pitching well enough to be a #3 starter at the time.
It wasn’t until Shields left the team that it came out he was the guy lighting a fire under Wil Myers in 2016, getting him an All Star berth. After Shields left, Myers started mailing it in the rest of the season, and has continued to waste his talent since. The article mentions the influence of ownership.
The Tatis/Shields trade was a brilliant recovery from a trade forced by ownership. The Padres Chairman is apparently a frustrated armchair GM who talks to Preller daily.
Either provide proof that the Shields signing was forced by ownership or admit you have no earthly idea what you are talking about.
“The article mentions the influence of ownership.”
What the article actually says is ” In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership..” That is a general statement about FA signings for any MLB team.
What people have asked for, and no one has ever provided, is proof that Preller’s trade mistakes were driven by orders from the owners. “The owners made him do it” has become the catch-all BS dump for all of Preller’s mistakes. If the owners really love him as much as they profess to, they’d listen to him, not force him to make bad decisions.
Preller would have absolutely traded Shields whether or not Fowler flapped his gums. The decline of Shields was obvious, as was the failure of Preller’s all-in plan of which Shields was a part.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day
Dom, I agree and LOVE that Fernando Tatis Jr. is a Padre, but don’t forget about the MONEY that was involved! AJ didn’t just trade for a prospect…he sent a lot of money to Chicago to buy a prospect.
The Padres did have to pay a fairly large portion of Shields’ salary in the trade. Shields made $65 million from 2016 to 2018, $38 million of which was on the Padres’ tab. The White Sox paid Shields the remaining $27 million.
It’s hard to give him anything but a C, and the only reason I gave him that was for the trade that brought Tatis over. If not for that, I’d be inclined to give an F. The bad contract to Hosmer is enough to plug in an F. Failure. Sure, there’s some decent parts to work with, but I believe this regime is going to miss the window once again.
You can’t give an F for a signing when the poll is about trades
Give a F for trading Trea Turner
And Luis Urias, Max Fried and Yasmani Grandal (the latter for Matt freaking Kemp)
Matt Kemp was very good basically up until the point the Padres acquired him. I wish people would go back and look at stats before making judgements instead of basing it solely on hindsight
“Matt Kemp was good until the padres acquired him”. Yes, then he was bad thus making it a terrible trade.
A for
Tatis Jr, Paddack, Strahm, Naylor
B for
Avila, Olivares,
C for
Trammell, Mejia, Espinoza (C- value was there but injuries have derailed his career)..
D for
Myers (Castillo and Reyes came along as well).
F for
Kemp
everything else has been nothing for nothing.
Matt Kemp was declining like he’d been dropped out of a plane. He was okay overall in 2014 — great hitter, almost historically bad defense — but the physical problems were there for anyone to see.
You can find plenty of fans who blasted that trade when it happened. It was criminal undervaluing of Grandal.
“…go back and look at stats…”
Sure, they look good, but what you’re leaving out is that he had become a defensive liability while still with the Dodgers because of his arthritic knees. Just because a guy can hit doesn’t make him worth acquiring. Especially in a Park like Petco where defense is important. That is not hindsight either. His defensive deficiency was well known at the time. In his last year as a Dodger he had a -23 DRS and a -16.5 UZR/150 for all 3 OF positions. Not sure why LA was playing him in CF. 2014 was the last time he played CF. No other team played him there.
Trea actually was traded by the Rays before we traded him to the nats
Matt Kemp’s contract was clearly underwater. Dodgers were lucky to get anything at all for him. Let alone a catcher who made a couple of All Star games for them and cost them nothing.
Turner was not traded by the Rays. He was drafted by SD, 13th overall, and traded to the Nat’s on 12/19/2014. There were 3 teams involved in a trade of a bunch of players, but the Rays were not involved with Turner.
Naylor what’s so great about him
You make it seem like Strahm and Naylor were great acquisitions. Strahm was a BP pitcher as a starter last year and ok out of the pen. Naylor is a first baseman without a position who flails at the ball in the OF. Certainly not trades I’d consider “A’ trades. Oliveras a B? If the Padres considered him a prospect anymore, why do they keep trading for toolsy underachievers?
I gave Preller a D. You tell his first team was a bad fit from the start – no ss (Clint Barmes?) and a bunch of prima donnas who weren’t wanted by their current teams. And that was the best team he’s had.
Your reply is hilarious as it is basically the very thing I was complaining about in my comment
(In reply to brew crew, this app can be very weird with placement of comment replies)
Funny that you say that, some quick googling led me to a Dodgers blog were the comments section are filled with fans that think the trade would only be a success if the dodgers use the money to improve the team elsewhere, with plenty not liking it regardless. Kemp was back to his MVP level in the second half just before being traded.
You still are just looking at stats and using hindsight. Does anyone replying remember that Grandal was suspended for using PEDs during his rookie year?
I’m not going to reply to the other comments since I’m sure no one will read this at this point anyway but I stand by my point. IMO you have to factor in context. Some trades work out great for clubs just based on dumb luck and not some amazing scouting, other trades fail even though it looks like a slam dunk at the time. Look at it from a few different angles
@johnrealtime…
Kemp was basically replacement level for the Padres. For all the money they were paying him, they would have had no problem signing someone in free agency who would have won them more games than Kemp did.
And as for Grandal getting suspended for PEDs, he was still pre-arb when they traded him so if he was really a problem the simple solution was to just non-tender him. They didn’t have to take back an overpaid, over-the-hill clubhouse malcontent to get rid of Grandal.
You missed my point Mike. I was saying that judging a trade merely with hindsight is a flawed way of going about it when evaluating GMs. Especially commentors saying years later that Preller is a fool for having done it, when they likely would have been lauding it at the time. The trade clearly ended up being a failure for the Padres
Padres Trivia: “Who was the FIRST San Diego Padre to hit for a cycle?” The answer to that trivia question will always be Matt Kemp. I agree it was a bad trade, but Kemp wasn’t all bad.
@Jasona9 one game
@johnrealtime and I’m saying the trade looked bad at the time as well. Kemp’s contract was clearly underwater when the Padres traded for it. The Dodgers should have had to pay more of the contract than they did just to get rid of him. Then more still to get Grandal back in the trade.
That’s a valid point in general, but invalid for Kemp/Grandal. Lots of people blasted the trade when it happened, because Kemp’s defense was so bad and because Grandal was so good.
A good trade to exemplify your point is Kluber/Ludwick. Not a Preller deal, but it shows the importance of context. It’s not even clear if the Indians knew that Kluber had something to be unlocked. He looked like a future long reliever at best, and Ludwick was a very good hitter as a Cardinal in 2010.
Grandal had worn out his welcome in SD. But the Dodgers shouldn’t have been able to move Kemp at all. Preller seemed unable to resist the “prestige value” that Kemp brought with him (same as he did with Eric Hosmer).
MikeEmbletonSmeelsBad, I know that it was only one game…..in Colorado with the thin air, LOL. I wish that Tony Gwynn had hit the first cycle for the Padres! I’ll never forget the game when Tony had a HR, triple and a double! He needed a single and was pulled….Oh Padres history can be cruel…LOL
He doesn’t get more than C because for all the moves he’s made, they haven’t won anything. Ultimately, we can talk about how well a GM May restock the system, get a “good haul” for a player, sign a good contract, make a good draft pick, etc. but at the end of the day, you need to win. Preller has been in San Diego since the 2014-15 offseason and they haven’t even been in the Wild Card even even after sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into free agent contracts.
Maybe it’ll all work out, but Preller won’t be the one to see it if it does. Maybe San Diego gives Dave Dombrowski a call to see if he’d like to live in San Diego and try to assemble all the pieces they’ve got.
If that happens, better win now NOW, because SD would have NO farm system within 18 months.
@Hubcap, If I were betting, I’d bet on DD running the show in Philadelphia within the next year, but San Diego would be my wild card if he wanted to run a team again. For all I said about Preller, they’ve got some pretty talented pieces coming up. I’d be similar to AA taking over the Braves towards the end of their rebuild.
I agree that when you hire DD you’re trading any long term plan for the immediate window. I’d counter by saying he won a title in Florida, won two pennants in Detriot, and won a title in Boston along with many playoff appearances. He’s as a proven winner as you’ll find.
He isn’t a great GM
He screwed the Red Sox up.
Red Sox had great major league players and a farm system
What you want today. But by the time he left the farm system was gone and those great major Leaguers were either old(JD Martinez), injured ( Sale) or demanding big money (Betts)
One of the most overrated GMs in baseball. The Padres aren’t ever going to outspend the Dodgers.
Dodgers as of right now are the #1 franchise. Money, farm system plus they make minor Leaguers into All Stars like Muncy.
This is vastly overblown. The reason DD had to sell the farm was that the red sox haven’t developed a good pitcher in 15 years.
The good farm was all hitters (except for kopech and that trade worked well) and DD needed to trade for pitchers to keep the red sox pitching staff competetive.
Also most of the prospects he traded away were busts except for kopech and moncada who got him one of the best pitchers in the game.
His rings would say he’s been a great GM. Even his work in places he didn’t win a ring.
Doesn’t matter
He put Boston in a bad position.
Yankees have their farm system working and they have the money to spend.
Baseball is different now. Dodgers and Yankees have raised the stakes. Have to keep you farm system developing and can’t just throw money around anymore or give up all your minor Leaguers.
The margin for error is so small.
If he didn’t go a great job in Boston not going to do one for SD.
The Red Sox and Yankees are much closer in terms of revenue than the Padres and Dodgers
The goal is to win the World Series. I’d rather my team win 1 WS and have to deal with the effects of it as opposed to going to the playoffs and flaming out 5 straight years.
Owners prefer the latter typically since it is more profitable but as a fan I just want the parade. Multiple championships is great but becomes increasingly unrealistic in the world of wild cards and expanded playoffs (and things are only expanding more and more)
He won with having a huge budget compared to his competition.
Florida threw a bunch of money at players.
Detriot is in the skid row of divisions. AL Central doesn’t have one single big spending team.
Boston usually has the second highest payroll in the AL
You have to understand your limitations.
SD Padres need a GM who will develop a farm system and one who will spend money wisely.
Because they can never compete financially with the Dodgers or even the Giants.
Rings matter.
Also, DD knew his limitations. And won. But hey, we all can’t wear buzzers under our shirts to know which pitch is coming so spend, trade and win is his limits.
Not going to happen with a team like the Padres.
At best their payroll will be second in the division but well behind the Dodgers.
Getting to the playoffs is the key. Throwing money won’t be the way for SD.
It will be through their farm system, trades and spending money wisely.
At best they will have the fifth or sixth highest payroll in the NL.
Ahaha he got fooled by a burner
“He screwed the Red Sox up.”
Not really. Outside of the Sale trade, how many guys has he traded away, do you really want back?
The only hypothetical saving grace is that ownership has kept him around this long and continued to sink their money into big, long contracts (Upton, Kemp, Shields, Myers, Hosmer, Machado) while losing. Maybe they just believe in him that much and are committed to seeing this through. Definitely unprecedented to have a long leash, spend a ton of money, and not win though.
Padres aren’t paying a Dave D
Shouldn’t there be a Chris Paddack trade in there?
For sure … adding it now
All this and they still haven’t won anything.
Seems like if they would have hung on to max fried, trea turner the team would be in a little bit better of a place. He jumped the gun trying to make a dollar out of a dime and maybe its left them with mediocre nonsense?
Why wasn’t the Paddack trade listed? Turning Rodney into Chris Paddack (potential ace) was almost as good as the Tatis (potential MVP) trade. What everyone forgets is just how bad the Padre 40 man roster was when A.J took over. The Hosmer signing was pushed by Fowler and Myers was the number one prospect in MLB and former AL ROY before almost posting a 30-30 season. It is easy to take pot shots at Preller for Myers and it can be argued that trading the AA draft pick for Myers was not good, but I am good with Tatis and Paddack over Turner. Preller has the Padre Farm System as strong as any in MLB History. 2020 could see two more Preller signees (Gore and Patino) make their MLB debuts. Gore (3rd overall pick) is the best player in his draft year and has a ceiling similar to what Kershaw had with LA. How about a list of the good players Preller has brought aboard instead of all the negative stuff. No GM is going to hit on all of his transactions, but the 40 man roster Preller had when he started had no elite players on it, none. By 2022 the Padre roster could feature 5 elite players (Tatis, Machado, Paddack, Gore, Trammell) and a host of above average players. Right now it can be argued that A.J. has assembled the best bullpen in MLB and by 2022 the best rotation. I have read the comments on here for years and never responded, but some of you low baseball IQ posters just don’t have a grip on reality. The Padres were a raging dumpster fire when Preller took over. In 2020 the Padres have one of the best Farm Systems in MLB despite graduating more than 10 players over the last 3 years. The Padres have the best bullpen in 2020. The Padres have two elite players in Machado and Tatis and another player in Paddack heading that way. The Padres are trending up in a parabolic way and the Farm System is poised to deliver (via trades or graduation to MLB) what the Padres need in 2021 and beyond. A.J. Preller built this. The decade of the 20’s will be the best 10 years in Padre history.
Where is your proof that the Hosmer signing was pushed by Fowler?
Exactly. There are some fans who excuse every Preller mistake (the Rock Star GM winter, Myers extension, Hosmer) as being driven by ownership.
A poor grip on reality would be someone trying to hype the Padres up this much. You’re ridiculously over projecting their prospects. Trammel couldn’t hit at AA yet he is going to be an elite player? Machado put up a 109 OPS+, thats far form elite. Im sure at this time a year ago you were saying how great Lauer and Urias were going to be. A legitimate case could have been made the Dodgers had a better farm than SD before they traded Downs and Wong. They draft better players without tanking year after year. AZ has a far better MLB team and a solid farm too. Sorry to break it to you but good MLB team + top 5 farm > Mediocre MLB team + #2 farm. Heck even the Giants who flat out refused to tank for the longest time already have a better position player prospect group than the padres do. It took them 1.5 years to get together that high upside group of prospects. It took Preller 5 years of tanking and they still haven’t made any MLB strides at getting better. But sure Preller is some genius who built the next dynasty.
Turner wasn’t traded for Tatis or Paddack. It was possible to have all 3 on the team. And Turner > Tatis anyway.
That’s a sure sign of a Preller honk — “if we didn’t trade Turner, we wouldn’t have Tatis.”
As a Padre fan, I get a tingly feeling imagining Trea Turner sliding over from short to play 2b alongside Tatis. Then reality kicks in. And besides, the infield would still be critically wounded by the carcass of Hosmer.
You’re doing some serious squinting through rose colored glasses.
Yes, I’d argue and sure many others would about your comment stating that AJ has assembled the “best bullpen in MLB”????
Really….?
The 2014 Padres team, the last one Preller did not build, won 77 games.
They haven’t won that many since. They’ve averaged 70 wins, which is exactly what they did last year. After five years there should have been some positive movement — doesn’t have to mean playoffs, but if a genius has been in charge for half a decade, the team should have stuck its nose over .500.
Just how bad could the 40 man roster have been if Preller’s versions have underperformed it?
And it’s not true that the 2014 40 man had no elite talent. Yasmani Grandal was tremendously valuable as a Padre and as continued to be so. By Fangraphs, he’s been the 12th most valuable hitter in MLB from 2014 to now. Tyson Ross was a beast.
If Trammell is potentially elite (and he is), then players like Rymer Liriano and Casey Kelley would have deserved the same label in 2014.
No one sensible would dispute that Preller has built an enviable farm system. It’s yet to be determined if he can build a winning major league team.
LOL that too. 2014 was their best season in the last 6 years yet thats this guys great reasom why Preller is such a good GM.
You beat me to it. He inherited a team with 77 wins, and has won 74, 68, 71, 66, and 70 since then.
The biggest mistake he made was not blowing up the team as soon as he arrived. Libertyfighter,s thesis is that Preller inherited “just how bad the Padre 40 man roster was when A.J took over”, then it was a monstrous mistake to trade away Turner & Grandal.
Instead of trading Grandal and Turner, for an almost non-existent chance at the playoffs, he should’ve traded inury-prone SPs Ross, Cashner, and Kennedy at absolutely peak value.
Is that you, Mrs. Preller?
I don’t see a 2020 season for the Bigs, this virus will last until August before we all feel comfortable enough to have 40000 fans crowded in a stadium. The players don’t care their getting a full salary which I do not believe should happen, maybe 25% of their normal salary.
Bingo there isn’t MLB this year
Horrible in free agency
F. Up there with Dave Stewart and Walt Jocketty in terms of horribleness.
Lol joe wieland not kyle wieland. Kyle wieland was traded with jed lowrie for mark melancon. A trade between cheaters.
Lot of bad trades by Preller………a lot.
The Tatis and Paddack deals MAY help make up a bit of ground,but AJ is still looking uphill at competence in dealing talent.
Over reaction most of the guys he traded away are duds
… except Trea Turner, Max Fried, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Urias, Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards.
Also, most of the guys he traded FOR were duds.
He looked really bad after all his ’14 acquisitions blew chunks and after he had decimated the farm. But he reckoned with that and acquitted himself nicely over the years with the Tatis trade being the cherry on top.
The median grade of a C seems about right for time being.
Getting Paddack and Tatis were great, but he’s made some terrible trades. Same with most clubs. I gave a B, which may be slightly generous, but getting rid of Shields and at least part of his terrible contract was already a win. Getting back a guy who later became one of the game’s best prospects was amazing. Saying this as a White Sox fan who hated that Shields trade at the time and hate it way more now.
Paddack and Tatis have played about a season and a half between them. Still prospects. Preller has been an utter failure. If we regular guys and gals did our jobs like Preller, we would have been fired a few years ago.
I feel like those early big headliner moves is what really tanked his score here.
Padres have made some good trades. Maybe not Rays type of trades, but not too fair off. Padres system is stacked and it’s a nice luxury to have. I have it a A
He got fleeced on the Myers trade and he fleeced teams in the Tatis and Paddack trades. Everything else was either decent or probably fell out of his control.
Are you Red Sox fans piss off. This article is about the Padres. Trailer is awful and should be fired. He confuses motion with movement. Add the free agent signings and he clearly is an F
Preller is….
A farm system and $4 bucks will get you a latte at Starbucks. Prospects don’t win rings. Most of them wash out. Myers was a prospect. Margot was a 5 tool prospect. He traded for Pham with a bad elbow and can’t play OF yet.
His trades are one thing – overall he’s not a good GM. Here’s why…
The Padres are going on ten (10!) years in a row of under .500 baseball. That’s not even mediocre, but below. He’s been at the helm since 2014.
The farm system has been touted for what seems like years, yet they haven’t contributed to a winning record. In fact, I don’t see anyone except Tatis reaching the next level this year. I could be wrong but only time will tell.
His signings have, for the most part, been mistakes. When you’re the Dodgers or the Yankees you can afford to swing and miss a couple of times with big deals. Not when you’re the Padres.
MLB suspended him after an investigation into the Drew Pomeranz trade. So his credibility is suspect. This is the second time Preller has been suspended by MLB – the other being with the Rangers. Don’t forget the Marlins trade was also partially reversed after it was discovered pitcher Colin Rea had a preexisting elbow issue. Rea was returned to the Padres and the Marlins received their prospect in return. He’s unethical, and in the end that will not help when trying to gain the trust of other GMs for trades.
Your talking a lot about the past, its over let’s move forward and see what happens in 2021 since 2020 is not going to happen
So Aj is now being graded on 5 years prior to his hiring?. 4 of 5 years which Jeff Moorad was leading the charge with Josh Byrnes? Dig into those 4 years and tell me how horrible AJ is. Taking the full 5 years as a unified Front Office with one direction is just ignoring what actually happened. With Mike Dee and after Mike Dee were clear differences and they should have taken the post Mike Dee direction out of the gate. Aj is not free from criticism, but he is hardly the bastion of ineptitude many claim he is. Again, dig into the previous decade before him with Moorad and Alderson. The mighty Hoyer/Mcleod tandem did their fair share of damage. As good as KT was, he and Fuson’s draft record speaks for itself. Walk in these shoes and then tell me how horrible the last 5 years have been. I will take trying and failing anyday over just hoping it gets better while investing nothing to make that happen.
Ahh the assumptions of their farm system. The farm started getting attention due to 2016 J2 signigs which really picked up after drafting Gore with the 3rd pick in 2017.. That was the first time since 2009 they picked in the top 5. See the Padres have been bad for awhile but never really that bad. They had been in the back end of the top 10 or early teens for draft position. Many of these players were under 21 and many of their current top 30 still are (18 of 30 and 8 of 10 in the top 10). Most of the prospect flame outs have been Byrnes holdovers in Hedges, Spangenberg, Renfroe, Urias, and Franmil Reyes. Franchy Cordero and Dinelson Lamet are the only ones left.that arent AJs. I know there are trades as well but bottom line the real build was going into its 4 th year and its not uncommon for prospects to take up to 5 years to make their way to the ML roster.
Look I get that peoples opinions of AJ/Padres havent changed a lick in his 5yrs. If you like him, you defend the good and rationalize the bad by saying it beats what came before him. If you didnt like him in 2014, then you still dont now. Grandal had to go to see what they had in Hedges. Tatis replaces the Turner. I will challenge anyone to say keeping Grandal and Turner would have made them any better in 2015-2018.. By the time Fried health came around Grandal would have been gone. Ross and Eflin are no better than Lucchesi and Lauer. The Wil trade wasnt the problem, the premature extension was. Heres where I point out Josh Byrnes extended Cory Luebke, Carlos Quinten, Cam Maybin and Jed Gyorko. It depends on the week which side i’m on but AJ has brought more good than bad and that was sorely needed here. The remaining hurdle for this group to get over is development. It is why they brought in a complete new on field staff and we will just have to wait and see.
How were Hedges, Renfroe, Urias and Reyes “prospect flame outs?”
Absolutely keeping Grandal and Turner would have made them better in 2015-2018, but in Grandal’s case I would have traded him to the highest bidder for prospects either at the 2015 trade deadline or after the season.
They could afford to wait on Fried’s health coming around.
Yes the Wil Trade was the problem! Trea Turner is a BEAST!
Tatis only replaces Turner when he’s not injured. And once again, it was never a one or the other proposition between those two.
I will take trying and failing anyday
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The only thing that failing leads to is failure.
Barring the Tatis & Paddack deals, the rest of the trades have been awful! Preller in another organization would have been fired by now. The rebuilding of a team does not take more than five years!!!
The Tatis Jr. and Paddack trades mean I can’t give less than a C but most of the other ones are bad enough that I can’t go higher than a C
In total, he traded:
Turner
Grandal
Fried
Clase
for
Tatis
Paddack
But one thing that doesn’t factor into the names, is that he picked up a lot of salary.. Kemp, Upton, and Kimbrel were expensive players.
Well using the depth of your logic Tatis and Paddack cancel out Turner and Fried. Did you even know who Emmanuel Clase was 12 months ago? 23 inn. Andres Munoz, Javy Guerra, and some are pushing an arm like Luis Patino to the bullpen. I think they will live. If getting rid of Grandal is the biggest trade error for a new GM in 5 years, Ill take it. Hoyer and McLeod traded Cory Kluber for Ryan Ludwick and Josh Brynes traded Anthony Rizzo for Andrew Cashner.
Jury is still out on Josh Naylor, but unlike Josh Brynes AJ got something from Andrew Cashner. Pedro Avila also, his story isnt complete and AJ got him for a malcontent in Derek Norris dealing with a domestic abuse claim. Francisco Mejia story isn’t complete yet at 24 yrs old and 5yrs of control left. Without the Kimbrel trade there is no Taylor Trammel (Logan Allen) nor Emilio Pagan (Manny Margot). Javy Guerra has 6yrs to figure out if hs arm can play in the bullpen. But Im sure you will focus on Carlos Asuaje flaming out.. Jose Castillo and Gerardo Reyes are the forgotten pieces from the Myers deal. Both still here and Castillo had a finger ligament issue keep him from the 2019 roster but 5yrs there too. Luis Torrens and Miguel Diaz still have time too, both were rule 5 guys still here. Might be a little bit more than what you see.
Could have had all 4 of Tatis, Paddack, Turner and Fried. Tatis only cancels out Turner when he’s not injured. Paddack might regress if he can’t master a third pitch.
Getting rid of Grandal wasn’t the error. It was who they traded him for.
Without the Kimbrel trade they have a CBA pick in 2015 and don’t have to pay Melvin Upton Jr.
A couple of bullpen guys (one who is always injured, one who just plain sucks) don’t make up for trading Trea Turner. Not. One. Bit.
Well using the depth of your logic Tatis and Paddack cancel out Turner and Fried.
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I’m good with that, but that means his net trades is a -Grandal & Clase.
Did you even know who Emmanuel Clase was 12 months ago?
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It doesn’t work like that. If Preller gets credit for trading for a relative unknown, then he gets blamed for trading away a relative unknown.
Wow. That 2014-2015 has to be one of the worst offseason in baseball history. Are we sure Bill O’Brian wasn’t involved in the decision making as well?
The 2015 season was a debacle and set the Pads back several years. In hindsight, it may have been the best thing that ever happened to SD baseball as the future looks bright indeed. I’m not sure we would have gotten to this point had the 2015 season been a success.
Saying the future looks bright implies a level of certainty. I would say there’s a reason for hope for the future, but everyone knows how it is with prospects.
Not Padre fan who thinks every prospect is amazing and Manny Machado is SUPERSTAR
dimwits
Do you even English bro?