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
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That’s a lot of action on the trade market, but has it been effective? (Poll link for app users)
