San Diego Padres A.J. Preller is Baseball’s New Pariah

San Diego Padres General Manager has been suspended for thirty days after it was determined that he failed to disclose injury information. What will that mean for his future around the game?

After the trade deadline, there was a feeling that some shady deals had been made by the San Diego Padres and General Manager A.J. Preller. Colin Rea, who was traded to the Marlins, was sent back after it was revealed that he would need Tommy John surgery. Drew Pomeranz, who had been sent to the Red Sox in an earlier trade, likewise had undisclosed medical information, causing his thirty day suspension. One has to imagine that additional punishment may be forthcoming as a result of the Rea deal.

This is not the first time that Preller has been suspended. As the Assistant General Manager of the Texas Rangers, Preller had been suspended due to an incident involving international signing rules. While a single incident can be chalked up as a mistake, multiple situations such as this, particularly involving a lack of disclosure of medical records for a player being traded, can be damaging to a reputation. In fact, it would be fair to wonder if Preller could be trusted again by other GMs around the league.

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For now, the Padres are saying that Preller is in no danger of losing his job. That alone makes one wonder how much Preller had to do with having two databases for medical records in the front office, and how much of these dealings were ordered by those above him. Could Preller just be a fall guy for the orders of the Padres baseball operations, taking the bullet for others?

It would explain why the Padres are keeping him around. Yet, that could backfire dramatically. While he did a great job of dismantling the disaster that was the 2015 Padres roster and getting back some excellent prospects, Preller’s word is worth less than my stack of Brad Komminsk rookie cards. Will anyone be willing to make a trade with him again?

That is the problem that the Padres are likely to run into this offseason and beyond. Even if the Padres have players that other teams covet, their expected return could be disappointing given that lack of trust. It will take quite a bit of time to rebuild that trust, if it ever comes back.

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A.J. Preller may be able to keep his job with the San Diego Padres, but they will feel the repercussions of his suspension for quite some time. Preller is now a pariah in baseball, and he may never regain his former status.