AJ Preller should be off the hot seat after Padres’ stunning season turnaround

The San Diego Padres are sitting pretty with about a month-and-a-half left in the 2024 regular season. According to FanGraphs, the Padres now have a 95% chance of making the postseason.

From the Winter Meetings to Opening Day, a playoff spot was always the goal. But after watching the Friars ship off one of the best players in the game today (Juan Soto) and losing Blake Snell in free agency, it was difficult for the San Diego fanbase to wrap their minds around the idea of contending.

After all, nearly every other team in the NL West (except for the Colorado Rockies, of course) made big investments during the offseason. But with about six weeks left until the postseason begins, the Friars are looking like contenders, not only for a spot in the playoffs, but perhaps an opportunity to represent the National League in the World Series. Whether you're a fan of his or not, it's time to give Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller his just due.

AJ Preller should be off the hot seat after Padres’ stunning season turnaround

By all accounts, this was a make-or-breakit year for Preller and Co. The Padres front office had been wheeling and dealing for the past several seasons, and while the Friars reached the NLCS in 2022, San Diego missed the playoffs altogether in 2023. Preller has sent top prospect after top prospect to different organizations in recent years, and the Friar faithful want to see those high-risk moves pay off with the trip to the Fall Classic.

Preller used this year's MLB trade deadline to beef up an already successful bullpen. Adding Tanner Scott and Jason Adam to the duo of Jeremiah Estrada and Robert Suarez gives manager Mike Shildt the option of only having to cover five or six innings with his starter on a given night.

Preller also swung one of the biggest trades of the season shortly before Opening Day when the Padres acquired Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox. Cease tossed a no-hitter earlier this season, and a strong display down the stretch may put the right-hander at the top of the list among Cy Young candidates. Preller then did the unthinkable and pried Luis Arráez from the Miami Marlins just a few weeks into 2024.

In short, if the Padres make it back to the playoffs this season, all the talk of Preller being on the hot seat should vanish into thin air. The Padres subtracted last year's NL Cy Young Award winner (Snell), a top-three closer in baseball (Josh Hader), and arguably the second-best player in the game (Soto), and will likely have a better record this season than they did in 2023.

There's even a chance the Friars could win the NL West. If the Padres drop the Los Angeles Dodgers into the Wild Card round, maybe Preller's office will be in need of an upgrade.

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