3 AJ Preller decisions that could seal his fate with Padres after 2024

Decimating the Padres starting rotation?

The Padres front office wants to add an experienced starting pitcher to the rotation. A reunion with Blake Snell is not out of the realm of possibility, especially with the starting pitching free market suddenly drying up. The Friars have some money in the budget to get a deal done. Signing Snell to a short-term deal would be beneficial for all parties.

But they should've never been in this position. Starting pitching is the most important component of a team's roster, and Preller let Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez depart this offseason. Yes, he imported Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez and Drew Thorpe, but the jury's very much out on all of those arms.

Right now, the Padres have what they have, and unless they can figure out a reunion with Snell or bring in Jordan Montgomery, they'll have to hope for the best with injured assets in Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish in addition to unknown commodities like the aforementioned names.

Preller did a nice job shoring up the bullpen by adding Wandy Peralta, Yuki Matsui and Wook Suk Go, but that was at the expense of losing key rotation pieces.