Did Toronto media call out Blue Jays with Padres, AJ Preller compliment?

If the Friar faithful were asked for one word to describe San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller, there's likely to be a wide-range of responses. Some Pads fans have hated seeing some of San Diego's top prospects traded away over the past few seasons, while others within the fanbase appreciate the fact that Preller is consistently trying to build a winning ball club.

Preller has overseen the farm system built up, torn down, and (sort of) built back up. All the while, the Padres top executive has managed to bring some of the biggest names in the sport to San Diego. Sometimes they stay, sometimes they don't. The Padres said goodbye to Juan Soto this past offseason, but also welcomed Dylan Cease. Such is the life of being a Padres fan, right?

But while some San Diego fans have been unimpressed by what can sometimes be described as a haphazard approach on the part of Preller and Co., opposing fanbases would love to have a the Padres' shot-caller running their organization. In fact, some of the Toronto media, who are lamenting their team's constant failures, would love to the Blue Jays' executives make the types of moves that Preller has over the past few years.

Did Toronto media call out Blue Jays with Padres, AJ Preller compliment?

Shi Davidi of SportsNet in Canada recently published a piece called Padres' 'revamp' makes for an interesting case study for Blue Jays. In the article, Davidi praises Preller's relentless approach that sees the Padres executive adjust and adapt.

Davidi commended Preller's ability to shed payroll this offseason while still maintaining a competitive roster. The Padres lost Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, and Nick Martinez, not to mention Soto and Trent Grisham. But Preller was still able to secure arms like Cease, Michael King, and Jhony Brito.

One could make the case that both the Padres and Blue Jays have done less with more than almost any other franchise over the past few seasons sans the New York Mets. However, the Padres made it all the way to the NLCS in 2022, and that was without Fernando Tatis Jr.

The Jays lost to the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Round last season, and the Seattle Mariners the year before that. Both the Twins and Mariners were playoff failures for years before finally getting over the hump, and the Blue Jays were the team that eventually gave way. Toronto hasn't been to the ALCS since 2016 with the likes of Josh Donaldson, J.A. Happ, and Troy Tulowitzki.

So while Preller can be frustrating at times, Pads fans should understand that a lot of other fanbases would love to have him running the show. Despite losing Soto, the Padres are sitting pretty in the NL West standings at the moment.

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