In today’s MLB environment, the performance of future prospects is tracked almost as closely as that of current players. The next franchise savior is always on the near horizon, and fans tend to get cranky when they don’t arrive on time.
But San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller doesn’t care nearly as much about all that. Preller built his reputation as a wheeler-dealer by using prospects as disposable commodities, choosing proven players who can get it done on the field right away.
That tendency was actually chosen by MLB.com as a major trend in the 2026 season. Sam Dykstra did a piece on the 26 prospect storylines to follow this year, and his question about Preller came in at #9: Can A.J. Preller actually trade anyone else?
It’s a viable question. Preller used the fifth overall prospect in baseball, shortstop Leo De Vries, to acquire reliever Mason Miller from the Athletics, and that move paid off in spades. Miller turned an already excellent bullpen into a juggernaut, and the relievers led the Padres into the Wild Card Series.
This season might be a very different story, however. The Padres are up for sale, and it’s slowly becoming apparent Preller doesn’t have anything close to the spending freedom he’s been given in the past. San Diego let Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez walk in free agency, and you can make an argument that losing Suarez especially weakened the bullpen.
Preller has also been reportedly listening to offers for Miller, although those reports could be mostly noise. The Mets were rumored to be interested, but nothing has materialized so far.
As Dykstra pointed out, catcher Ethan Salas and pitcher Cruz Schoolcraft are both Top 100 prospects, and for now they remain in the Padres system. But no Padres prospect should ever get too comfortable with this status given Preller’s tendencies, even if his moves this year are motivated by financial austerity.
Salas is an especially interesting name to watch. The young Venezuelan made headlines when he signed with the Padres as one of the top international prospects in baseball, and his skills package includes power, production, a rocket arm and lightning-quick reflexes.
The question is whether guys like Salas and Schoolcraft will be sticking around. We all know Preller has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to trades, and at some point he's going to have to do something to make up for the losses they've suffered. That's a storyline that's well worth following, and it could have a ripple effect that goes well beyond Preller and the Padres.