The San Diego Padres have had a very quiet offseason to date, but that’s not going to stop GM A.J. Preller from working the media. It’s what he does, and his latest comments appeared in an ESPN story via AP about how the sale of the Padres isn’t affecting his ability to make baseball moves.
This is borderline laughable, of course, but it’s part of the job for Preller. The Padres clearly got caught unaware of what was going to go down when manager Mike Shildt resigned at the end of the season and the impending sale was announced shortly after that.
Preller made his comments at the annual Padres FanFest at Petco Park yesterday, according to the report, which partially explains the false optimism. These events exist to pump up the fan base, which has been decidedly short of good news so far.
"You get to this point [in the offseason] and obviously you get the opportunity to hopefully get some players that are motivated, that want to be here, and get some deals that we feel like line up for us from a price standpoint and what we get in the player," Preller said. "Hopefully we're going to look to add some guys here in the next couple of weeks that help us a lot."
That’s for the carrot for the fan base, but several key former Padres don’t want to be in San Diego any more. Start with former ace Dylan Cease, who got a $210 million deal from the Toronto Blue Jays, and All-Star closer Robert Suarez got a $56 million contract from the Atlanta Braves. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn left to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for goodness sake, and starter Yu Darvish is probably about to retire after elbow surgery.
The latest Padre to leave was first baseman Luis Arraez, who signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants yesterday. Based on the salary number that was reported, the Padres could have had him for $12 million, and signing Arraez would have at least sent a signal that the Padres value stability and continuity.
Instead, Preller spoke about theoretical additions that are unlikely to happen.
“We're not in a spot where we have to do anything because of a payroll kind of situation,” he added. "It's go round the team out and get players."
Preller also offered no updates on his own status and a possible extension. He may be halfway out the door himself given that he hasn’t been extended, although a theory has been floated that a deal may have been done without announcing it.
"The timing ... I think a little bit is on me," Preller said about his own situation. "The focus on winning and putting a team together and free agents and trades, I'm not great at focusing on anything other than that at this time of year. So I think that's been part of it. And I expect something to get done.”
The most galling part of Preller’s comments its that he spoke about re-signing starter Michael King and getting another starter, Joe Musgrove, back from injury, as if this combination constituted a genuine addition. The fan base knows better, and they also know better than to buy into other comments Preller made about adding a bat, possibly multiple bats, a first baseman, a DH and “anything off the bench.”
Outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was also quoted in the piece, he said he fixed some “mechanical” problems, and he thinks the Padres can compete with the Dodgers if they display more “consistency.” No one else with any common sense and baseball knowledge believes that, though—not after this offseason.