Padres: Should Preller be under scrutiny? Not at all
San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller has been under some scrutiny, but he shouldn’t be because Preller has stuck to his plan: contention starting in 2020.
The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal recently wrote an article on people on the hot seat, which involved managers like Joe Maddon, Mickey Callaway, and Andy Green. Then, he brought up San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
“Let’s see this, this is nine straight losing seasons for the Padres, five straight under GM A.J. Preller. At what point does the rebuilding end?” Rosenthal said. “…Preller also should not be above scrutiny, even though he is under contract through 2022.”
He talked about how Preller was sending mixed messages to the team by signing Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, but handicapping Andy Green with starters who are on innings limits.
The innings limits are to protect the young arms of guys like Chris Paddack, so they will be in top form for their window of contention starting next year.
He is wrong when he says Preller should be under scrutiny. Although he came in and was named the “Rock star GM” by Matt Kemp, as he acquired Craig Kimbrel, Justin Upton, and James Shields along with Kemp, that truly wasn’t his plan.
His real plan began when he traded them to lower the payroll and stock a farm system that would become the best in the league…
His plan starts to unfold
Craig Kimbrel went to the Red Sox in return for a package that was headlined by current center fielder Manuel Margot.
Matt Kemp was traded to the Braves to dump his salary and Shields was also traded to the White Sox in the most lopsided trade in recent memory.
Preller traded for a 17-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic named Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis is now the most exciting player in the game and will be one of the faces of baseball with guys like Ronald Acuna Jr., Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts.
Back to Preller’s process. When he traded Kemp, Shields, and Kimbrel he started something special, but it had to begin with a rebuilding process.
At the time, no one knew who Chris Paddack was but Preller traded for him in a deal that sent Fernando Rodney to the Marlins, which turned out to be another lopsided deal that went in the Padres’ favor.
A coincidence… I think not.
Fast forward a couple of years later, and the San Diego Padres were above .500 for the first half of the season and have shown bright spots throughout the roster.
At the Trade Deadline, Preller added to a stacked far system built for a long period of sustainability beginning next season when he added Taylor Trammell, a left-handed hitting center fielder who has the ability to be a star in this league.
Oh, and he traded a DH, Franmil Reyes, and a back end starter (at best) in Logan Allen for him.
Preller’s plan beginning to result in contention
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The window of contention starts next season and Preller has done a great job during the rebuilding process, as he has built the foundation of what will be sustainable for the foreseeable future that San Diego Padres fans haven’t seen in 20 years.
A.J. Preller put together a plan to start contending in 2020 and for him to be under scrutiny the year before that window opens doesn’t make sense at all.
You can’t scrutinize a GM who has followed his plan all the way up until the start of contention, but then not see the plan through.
Were people scrutinizing Jeff Luhnow before the Astros young core (Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman) was in the big leagues? I don’t think so.
While part of the young core is up (Tatis and Paddack), some are still developing in the minor leagues but will be in San Diego next season.
That young core for the San Diego Padres includes the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, MacKenzie Gore, and Luis Patino who dominated in the Futures Game in Cleveland.
Ken Rosenthal states Preller “has proven to build a highly ranked farm system, but not a winning team.”
Well, the winning comes after the rebuilding process and that process is in its last season.
So, should Preller be under scrutiny? Not at all. He is just letting the plan pan out.
Next. 2019 MLB season: AL CY Young Awards Predictions. dark
I want to make it clear I have nothing against Ken Rosenthal, in fact, I believe he is the best reporter in the industry, but I just disagreed with one of his points.