There has been a lot of speculation about the future of San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller. No one from the organization, to include Preller, has held a press
conference to discuss the end of the season, plans for the offseason, player personnel decisions, etc. This lack of communication has only fueled speculation that Preller, who has one year left on his deal, may be on his way out, either on his own accord or via an ownership decision.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune, put some of those rumors to rest with a report that sources told him that a Preller extension may come some time this month. An extension seems fitting considering Preller has been the architect of back-to-back 90-win seasons. He seems to work well with Padres Manager Mike Shildt and much of the baseball world believed the 2025 trade deadline was his best yet.
San Diego has become one of the most talked about teams in baseball. The roster has multiple stars and remains competitive year in and year out. Of course, the Padres still have not won a World Series, in fact, they have not been there since 1998. With Preller, they do have a record of sustained success in recent years, and each season starts with the realistic expectation that they have a chance to reach the World Series. For many seasons, that was not the case in San Diego.
While at times it seems that the Friar Faithful hare ready to take up their pitchforks and torches and run Preller out of town, a recent Gaslamp Ball survey shows that, overwhelmingly, is not the case.
Will the Padres front office agree? That remains to be seen.
