a.j. preller
Padres make decision on top exec, manager amid growing dysfunction
San Diego had the third-highest payroll in Major League Baseball, but finished 82-80 and two games back of the final wild-card spot in the National League.
Star-hunting team expected to be in on Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes
Baseball folks expect the Padres to be in the free-agent bidding for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.
San Diego GM knows why Padres are struggling
Padres GM A.J. Preller strongly denied that struggling San Diego has a chemistry issue. He says their problem is a lack of hitting.
When Mets GM almost became Padres' top exec
Mets general manager Billy Eppler almost became the Padres' top executive eight years ago, until he didn't.
Padres GM slams Fernando Tatis Jr. over 'trust'
Fernando Tatis Jr. violated Major League Baseball's policy on performance enhancing drugs, and he also apparently violated his own team's trust in him.
Padres GM talks Juan Soto trade, Tatis Jr.'s return, new expectations
They made one of the biggest moves in the history of baseball to acquire Juan Soto from the Nationals.
How Padres pulled off Juan Soto blockbuster
The Padres are where it’s at today, thanks to their “gunslinger” GM and their win-at-any costs managing partner.
What's behind the ludicrous roster on baseball's biggest tank
Last fall, FOX premiered the series “Pitch,” about the screwball-throwing first female pitcher in major league history. She was a Padre. This spring, A.J. Preller premiered a roster that had...
Tigers reversing all-in course — are their stars now for sale?
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Tigers have admitted they need to change their ways, and now the industry waits to see just how much and how quickly. Detroit general manager Al...
MLB insiders skeptical Marlins' go-for-it trade was worth it
The Marlins are going for it. Is that a good thing? They have every reason to try to make the playoffs this season, considering only the Mariners have gone longer...
Exec's rant on 'pathetic' Padres starts with James Shields
The frustration in San Diego is palpable. Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler, in a radio interview with the Mighty 1090 AM on Wednesday, labeled the team "miserable failures" on the...
Padres slink away from spotlight after high-profile disaster
PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres have reentered baseball’s witness protection program. For a few heady months last year, San Diego went from non-contending and nondescript to the most talked about...
MLB's 10 most intriguing: Is A-Rod changed man or desperate fraud?
When we talk about a player maintaining his pace from the first half, the standard conversation is about if Bryce Harper can challenge 50 homers or Zack Greinke can keep...
Bud Black the fall guy for roster Padres 'rock stars' assembled
Bud Black looked up at the whiteboard in his Yuma, Az. spring office while answering nearly every question from a visitor in late March. The board was filled with the...
How to diagnose MLB's early flukes, fads and flops
We spend an offseason formulating questions, and then a season answering them. Or changing them, or changing them back. I am not even sure, for example, where we are on...
Did Padres sacrifice a coherent roster on altar of star power?
What has stood out about the Gregg Popovich Spurs is just how much sense they always make as a team. They accumulate talent that fits together. This allows them to...
The 50 most fascinating figures in baseball
Rob Manfred’s crises are coming. They are unavoidable when you are the commissioner of a major sport. They also are mostly unpredictable in their scope, timing and content. Maybe you...
Meet the 'maverick’ who impossibly made Padres the talk of baseball
When the Padres surprisingly hired A.J. Preller as their new general manager in August, team president Mike Dee described him as the candidate who would be best at bringing in...
Why James Shields is a risk the hyperactive Padres had to take
The Padres spent most of this offseason aggressively retooling the worst offense in the majors. But in the week before camps opened, the Padres could not ignore a pitching gift that...
Mets must prove they don't have creativity gap with NL rivals
When this offseason began, you could make a case the Mets, Marlins, Cubs and Padres were in similar places: National League teams that had skewed young and inexpensive to try...