Padres’ A.J. Preller jump-starts offseason with Taiwanese reliever signing

A.J. Preller apparently packed light for the offseason. Only a week after the San Diego Padres were bounced from the playoffs, San Diego’s president of baseball ops did what he always does in October: he started shopping. If there’s an international pitching aisle, Preller already had a cart — because the first move of winter is in, and it’s aimed squarely at the pipeline.

This isn’t a banner-flapping blockbuster, and that’s the point. The Padres need a winter of volume and value, of building lanes beneath the big-league roster rather than chasing splash for splash’s sake. Adding a live, projectable arm at 18 helps reset the farm the right way — early, internationally, and with upside that can be molded over multiple seasons.

Padres jump-start farm rebuild with international signing of Taiwanese reliever

On Oct. 9, president of baseball operations and GM A.J. Preller announced the Padres have agreed to terms with Taiwanese right-hander Lan-Hong Su. The 18-year-old fronted Kaohsiung City San-Min High School’s rotation and most recently closed for Chinese Taipei’s bronze-medal 18U team at the Baseball World Cup in Okinawa. The 6-foot-2, 155-pound righty impressed there: 2–0 with a 2.46 ERA (2 ER, 7.1 IP), a .192 opponents’ average (5-for-26), just one extra-base hit allowed (a double), and a 14/3 K/BB over five appearances.

“We’re excited to add Su to the organization and look forward to helping him achieve his dream of becoming a Major League pitcher,” said Padres Vice President, Amateur & International Scouting Chris Kemp. “Scouting him over the years has been a team effort, but recent looks from Po-Hsuan Keng, Trevor Schumm and Dave Post cemented our beliefs on Su as both a pitcher and teammate.”

“I chose to join the Padres because I was impressed by the team’s environment, competitive history, and development system,” said Su. “Throughout the recruiting process, I really felt that the Padres valued me and believed in my potential.”

There’s context here that matters for where this fits in the broader plan. Su turned down the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) first-round draft opportunity in July to attend college with the goal of signing with an MLB organization. And for San Diego, this is notable territory: it’s the first time the Padres have signed a Taiwanese player since Wen-Hua Sung in 2016. That points to a re-engagement in Taiwan and a willingness to compete for amateur talent across every lane, not just the most hyped markets.

On the field, Su checks the boxes you want in a teenage arm: lean frame with room to add good weight, strike-throwing habits that showed up under tournament pressure, and the history to toggle roles (starter in high school, leverage looks for the national team). The development roadmap writes itself — Arizona complex work to build strength and consistency, continued refinement of fastball life and secondary shapes, and a pacing plan that lets the innings grow with the body. San Diego doesn’t need him to be an answer tomorrow; they need him to be an option two or three years from now, and that’s exactly the kind of bet this is.

Zoom out, and the philosophy is clear: start the winter with a pipeline swing, not a headline chase. The Padres still have plenty of big-league questions to answer, but a farm rebuild is a hundred small wins stitched together. Su is one of those wins. Preller moved quickly, the scouting group closed, and the system gets its first winter boost before most clubs even unpack their offseason binders. Not flashy, just smart. And the Padres could use a lot more of exactly that.