A. J. Preller | |
---|---|
San Diego Padres | |
President of baseball operations and general manager | |
Born: New York City, U.S. | June 20, 1977|
Teams | |
|
A. J. Preller (born June 20,1977) is an American professional baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations and general manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was hired by the Padres on August 5,2014,while serving as the assistant general manager for the Texas Rangers,overseeing the player development and scouting departments and serving as a key advisor on all player acquisitions. At the time,he was 36 years old. [1]
Preller was born on June 20,1977,in New York City,to parents Arthur and Joan. He grew up in South Huntington,New York,on Long Island. He attended Walt Whitman High School,where he graduated in 1995. [2]
He attended Cornell University,where he met Jon Daniels, [3] [4] and graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in 1999. [5] After graduation,he served as an intern with the Philadelphia Phillies before joining the front office of the Los 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 manager Jon Daniels. [7] Preller reached the position of assistant GM with the Rangers before leaving for San Diego.
On August 6,2014,the San 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 dismissed Josh Byrnes following a two-plus year tenure,with Preller agreeing to a five-year deal. [8] The Padres also interviewed Kim Ng,Billy Eppler,and Mike Hazen. Preller made numerous transactions over the 2014-2015 offseason in what came to be known as "Prellerpalooza." He traded Yasmani Grandal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Matt Kemp and Tim Federowicz. He partook in a three team trade for Wil Myers and Ryan Hanigan,surrendering five players (including Trea Turner) in the process. He traded prospects to the Braves for Justin Upton. He signed James 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 closer Craig 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 manager Bud 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 sent Drew Pomeranz to the Red 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),and Anderson Espinoza (No. 89). [11]
On February 19,2018,the Padres signed Eric Hosmer to an eight-year,$144 million contract,the largest in club history at the time. [12] On February 21,2019,the Padres signed Manny 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 the 2020 National League Wild Card Series,their first postseason series win since the 1998 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 announced Bob Melvin would be the team's new manager,replacing the fired Jayce Tingler. [16]
On August 2,2022,Preller completed a blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals for Right fielder Juan Soto and First baseman Josh Bell. In exchange,the Nationals received Luke Voit and top prospects CJ Abrams,MacKenzie Gore,James Wood,and Jarlin Susana. On December 9,2022,Preller signed longtime Boston Red Sox Shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year 280 million contract.
In March 2023,Diamond Sports Group,the parent company to Bally Sports,filed for Chapter 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 chairman Peter 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 and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees in exchange for Michael King,Drew Thorpe,Randy Vásquez,Jhony Brito,and Kyle Higashioka.
Brian McGuire Cashman is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has served as the general manager and senior vice president of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure as general manager,he inherited a core that was built by Gene Michael and Bob Watson and the Yankees have won seven American League pennants and four World Series championships.
Andrew Jay Hinch is an American professional baseball coach and former player who is the manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hinch played catcher for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2000),Kansas City Royals (2001–2002),Detroit Tigers (2003),and Philadelphia Phillies (2004).
Michael Ausley Maddux is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher. He is the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for nine teams,over 15 seasons,and coached for four teams following his playing career.
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman who is the manager of the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. Over his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career,Tatís played for the Texas Rangers,St. Louis Cardinals,Montreal Expos,Baltimore Orioles,and New York Mets. He holds the major league record for runs batted in (RBI) in an inning,a feat that he achieved by hitting two grand slams in one inning during a game on April 23,1999,becoming the only player in MLB history to do so. His son,Fernando Jr.,plays for the San Diego Padres.
Jon Daniels is an American professional baseball executive senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers before being released from the position on August 17,2022. When hired at age 28,he was the youngest general manager in MLB at the time.
David Michael Littlefield is an American former Major League Baseball executive,who is currently a scout for the Detroit Tigers. Previously,Littlefield was employed as senior vice president and general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates,a position he held from July 13,2001,to September 7,2007. He took over as GM for Roy Smith,who had assumed the position on a temporary basis after the firing of GM Cam Bonifay on June 11.
Randy Smith is an American professional baseball executive. He has served as general manager of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres (1993–95) and Detroit Tigers (1996–2002),and as assistant general manager for the Colorado Rockies (1991–93). He works with the front office of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball and,as of 2018,also serves as a professional scout for MLB's Texas Rangers.
John Mozeliak is an American professional baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional player,Mozeliak came to the Cardinals as Walt Jocketty's assistant in 1995 and became the organization's 12th general manager after the 2007 season.
Ryan Alan Christenson is an American professional baseball former outfielder,minor league manager,and current bench coach for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The following is a franchise history of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. Prior to joining Major League Baseball as one of four expansion teams in 1969,the San Diego Padres were a Minor League franchise in the Pacific Coast League.
William Bradford Myers is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays,San Diego Padres,and Cincinnati Reds.
Thomas Andrew Pomeranz,nicknamed Big Smooth,is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies,Oakland Athletics,Boston Red Sox,San Francisco Giants,Milwaukee Brewers,and San Diego Padres. Pomeranz was an MLB All-Star with the Padres in 2016,and a World Series champion with the Red Sox in 2018.
Billy Eppler is an American baseball executive who most recently served as the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). In February 2024,Eppler was placed on MLB's ineligible list for the 2024 season due to fabrication of player injuries in violation of league rules during his tenure with the Mets. He also served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels from 2015 to 2020. Before that,he worked as the director of professional scouting and assistant general manager for the New York Yankees.
Austin Charles Hedges is an American professional baseball catcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres,Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers,with whom he won the World Series in 2023.
Jayce Michael Tingler is an American professional baseball coach and manager. He is the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as manager of MLB's San Diego Padres from 2020 to 2021. He previously served as the major league player development field coordinator and assistant general manager for the Texas Rangers. He played college baseball for the Missouri Tigers.
Ha-seong Kim is a South Korean professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. Kim was drafted 41st overall by the Nexen Heroes in the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization Draft. He made his KBO debut with the Heroes in May 2014 and won the KBO Golden Glove Award in 2018,2019 and 2020. In December 2020,Kim signed with the San Diego Padres,and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2021. In 2023,Kim became the first Korean-born player to win a Gold Glove Award.
MacKenzie Evan Gore is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres.
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Jr.,nicknamed "El Niño" or "Bebo",is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player Fernando Tatís Sr.
The Dodgers–Padres rivalry is a Major League Baseball (MLB) National League division rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers and Padres are both members of the National League (NL) West Division. It's occasionally called the I-5 rivalry because Los Angeles and San Diego lie approximately 120 miles apart along Interstate 5.