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PEORIA, Ariz. -- A.J. Preller’s future in San Diego is secure.
At long last, Preller and the Padres agreed to a multiyear extension on Monday, news that puts an end to an offseason of speculation about Preller’s future.
The freewheeling general manager has built a perennial contender in San Diego. Now, can he build a World Series winner? That’s the question hovering over his legacy.
Here are four takeaways following Monday’s news:
The timing was right
Had Preller and the Padres waited any longer, the lingering contract saga threatened to overtake some of the good vibes at the start of Spring Training. Instead, with a done deal, all parties can focus on what comes next.
On Monday, chairman John Seidler addressed the drawn-out process. In short, he said, the extension took a while to get done because -- as you’d expect -- Preller was busy.
“It’s taken so long, in part, because our schedules have been incompatible,” Seidler said. “I’m an old-fashioned guy, I prefer to have discussions like that in person. With A.J.’s travel to Japan and to the East Coast, we’ve really only been in-person four times since the end of the season. And the fourth and final discussion was yesterday, where we came to an agreement.”
Preller himself frequently cited a desire to keep his focus on his actual job without getting too tied up in contract negotiations. He hasn’t spoken with the media since the extension became official. But one day prior, he cited a desire to keep “the focus on the field.”
Now, it can be.
Back to work
Preller didn’t let those negotiations get in the way of his own roster maneuvering. Last Thursday, at his annual start-of-spring media availability, he cited a need to add to the offense and the rotation.
Sure enough, the Padres signed Nick Castellanos on Sunday, then added Ty France on Monday. They’ve also signed right-hander Germán Márquez to round out the rotation competition, and they’ve agreed to a deal with fellow righty Griffin Canning, who should join that competition when he’s recovered from the Achilles tear that ended his 2025 season. Late Monday night, they came to an agreement on a Minor League deal with Walker Buehler.
Still, Preller might not be done. He never is.
“You get to this point in time of the season, there are still a lot of good players out there,” Preller said Sunday. “So we continue having conversations and talking, both on the trade and free-agent market. … The offseason doesn’t end with the Winter Meetings. You roster-build, really, throughout the whole season and throughout Spring Training.”
The Padres’ clubhouse reacts
I’m guessing there aren’t many front-office executives who have the backing of their players quite like Preller. He’s beloved in the Padres' clubhouse, particularly by his star players -- as evidenced by Manny Machado’s very public lobbying for an extension.
To which Preller quipped: “You give out a $300 million contract, you get those kinds of comments.”
It’s not hard to see why the players have such reverence for Preller. For one, it’s impossible to question Preller’s work ethic. In a sport with a day-to-day grind like baseball, that’ll earn some points.
But more importantly, players want to know that their front office is invested in winning -- and they’d prefer for that winning to be immediate. Nobody “goes for it” quite like Preller. Maybe it’s fair to question the long-term merits of specific moves. But …
“He has definitely founded this organization, bringing it from probably one of the worst to one of the top organizations in the game,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. “I feel like everybody knows what he’s capable of. If somebody can bring a championship to San Diego, it’s definitely A.J. Preller.”
Continuing Peter Seidler’s legacy
“I think Peter would be happy that A.J. was extended,” John Seidler said Monday, speaking of his late brother, the team’s beloved former chairman. “Peter and A.J. had a mutual love and respect for each other and worked together great for so many years.”
John Seidler’s comments came amid separate questions about the potential sale of the team. If that comes to fruition, Preller would certainly serve as a link to the legacy of Peter Seidler, whose commitment to bringing a championship to San Diego matched Preller’s.
Preller and Seidler were extremely close. Under different ownership, perhaps Preller doesn’t become the second-longest-tenured lead executive in the sport (behind only the Yankees’ Brian Cashman). But Seidler afforded Preller grace for some of his missteps. Along the way, Preller has grown and evolved as a GM -- and, over the past couple seasons, has turned in some of his best work in roster construction.
Famously, Seidler believed that “one day, the baseball gods would smile on San Diego” in the form of a World Series. He also believed deeply that Preller would be the architect of the roster that made that vision a reality.