Examine individual changes

'{{short description|American baseball executive}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = A. J. Preller | image = | caption = | position = President of Baseball Operations and [[General manager (baseball)|General Manager]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|06|20}} | birth_place = [[New York, New York]], U.S. | team = San Diego Padres | teams = * [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1998}}) * [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{mlby|2001}}–{{mlby|2004}}) * [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] ({{mlby|2004}}–{{mlby|2014}}) * [[San Diego Padres]] ({{mlby|2014}}–present) }} '''A. J. Preller''' (born June 20, 1977) is the president of baseball operations and [[General manager (baseball)|general manager]] of the [[San Diego Padres]] of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB). He was hired by the Padres on August 5, 2014 while serving as the assistant GM for the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]], overseeing the player development and scouting departments and serving as a key advisor on all player acquisitions. At the time, he was 36 years old.<ref>{{cite web|title=Seven Things to Know About New Padres GM A.J. Preller|url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/AJ-Preller-Padres-General-Manager-270195181.html|website=NBC San Diego|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> ==Early years== Preller was born in 1977 to parents Arthur and Joan. He grew up on [[Long Island, New York]], and went to school in [[South Huntington, New York]], where in 1995 he graduated from [[Walt Whitman High School, South Huntington|Walt Whitman High School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/AJ-Preller-Padres-General-Manager-270195181.html |title=Seven Things to Know About New Padres GM A.J. Preller |publisher=NBC San Diego |date=August 6, 2014 |first=Matthew |last= Wood |access-date=September 15, 2014 }}</ref> He attended [[Cornell University]], where he met [[Jon Daniels]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11317413/san-diego-padres-hire-aj-preller-general-manager |title=Padres turn to A.J. Preller as GM |publisher=ESPN |date=August 7, 2014 |access-date=September 14, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1107 |title=Urban Cowboys |publisher=Cornell Alumni Magazine |date=July–August 2011 |first=Brad |last=Herzog |access-date=September 15, 2014 }}</ref> and graduated summa cum laude with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] degree in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shufsd.org/news/story.aspx?id=6808 |title=Meet Hall of Fame Inductee AJ Preller |publisher=South Huntington Schools District |access-date=September 15, 2014 }}</ref> After graduation, he served as an intern with the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] before joining the front office of the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]], and also worked for Major League Baseball.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shufsd.org/news/story.aspx?id=6808 |title=Meet Hall of Fame Inductee AJ Preller |publisher=South Huntington School |access-date= August 5, 2014}}</ref> ==Front office career== ===Texas Rangers=== In 2004, Preller was hired as Director of International and Professional Scouting by the Texas Rangers. While at Cornell, he was a fraternity brother of Texas Rangers General Manager [[Jon Daniels]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Grant |first=Evan |url=http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/report-san-diego-hires-a-j-preller-as-general-manager.html/ |title=San Diego Padres hire Rangers' A.J. Preller as General Manager |newspaper=[[Dallas News]] |date=August 5, 2014 |access-date=August 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052723/http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/report-san-diego-hires-a-j-preller-as-general-manager.html/ |archive-date=2014-08-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Preller reached the position of Assistant GM, before being hired by the San Diego Padres. ===San Diego Padres=== On August 6, 2014, the Padres announced the hiring of Preller as their new general manager. His hiring concluded a six-week process that commenced on June 22 after San Diego dismissed [[Josh Byrnes]] following a two and a half years tenure. The Padres also interviewed [[Kim Ng]], [[Billy Eppler]], and [[Mike Hazen]]. His official title is the President of Baseball Operations and the General Manager of the Padres. Preller reportedly agreed to a five-year deal upon joining the Padres organization.<ref>{{cite web |last=Heyman |first=John |url=http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/24650380/preller-accepts-five-year-deal-to-become-padres-gm |title=A.J. Preller accepts five-year deal to become Padres GM |publisher=CBS Sports |date=August 6, 2014 |access-date=August 6, 2014}}</ref> He made numerous transactions over the 2014-2015 offseason in what came to be known as "Prellerpalooza." He traded [[Yasmani Grandal]] to the Los Angeles Dodgers for [[Matt Kemp]] and [[Tim Federowicz]]. He partook in a three team trade for [[Wil Myers]] and [[Ryan Hanigan]], surrendering five players (including [[Trea Turner]]) in the process. He traded prospects to the Braves for [[Justin Upton]]. He signed [[James Shields (baseball)|James Shields]] to a 4-year contract. He made several smaller moves as well, as he launched the Padres into playoff talks before the season began. He concluded the offseason by trading for Braves closer [[Craig Kimbrel]] just hours before the season opened on April 5. Despite his off-season trades, the Padres in June 2015 were still underperforming. This was one of many factors that led to the firing of manager, [[Bud Black]], on June 15, 2015. On September 15, 2016, Preller was suspended for 30 days by MLB without pay for failing to disclose medical information, regarding the trade that sent [[Drew Pomeranz]] to the Red Sox.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Todd|first1=Jeff|title=Padres general manager A.J. Preller suspended 30 days|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/a-j-preller-suspended-thirty-days-for-failure-to-disclose-medical-information.html|publisher=MLB Trade Rumors|access-date=September 15, 2016}}</ref> On December 3, 2017, Preller was given a 3-year extension to remain as the Padres general manager.<ref>{{cite web|title=Padres give GM A.J. Preller 3-year extension|url=http://m.mlb.com/news/article/262784786/padres-gm-aj-preller-gets-3-year-extension/|publisher=[[MLB]]|first=AJ|last=Cassavell|date=December 3, 2017|access-date=December 3, 2017}}</ref> In 2018, MLB Pipeline ranked the Padres farm system No. 1 with seven prospects among their top 100 prospects: [[Fernando Tatís Jr.]] (No. 8), [[MacKenzie Gore]] (No. 19), [[Luis Urías]] (No. 36), [[Cal Quantrill]] (No. 40), [[Michel Báez]] (No. 42), [[Adrian Morejón]] (No. 50), and [[Anderson Espinoza]] (No. 89).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://padres.mlblogs.com/padres-ranked-1-minor-league-system-by-mlb-pipeline-95f11db87a55|title=Padres Ranked №1 Minor League System by MLB Pipeline|work=FriarWire|first=Bill|last=Center|date=March 2, 2018|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> On February 19, 2018, the Padres signed [[Eric Hosmer]] to an eight-year, $144 million contract, the largest in club history at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/padres-sign-first-baseman-eric-hosmer-to-eight-year-contract-266742104|title=Padres Sign First Baseman Eric Hosmer to Eight-Year Contract|work=[[MLB]]|date=February 19, 2018|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> On February 21, 2019, the Padres signed [[Manny Machado]] to a 10-year, $300 million contract, at the time the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/padres-sign-infielder-manny-machado-to-10-year-contract-304269418|title=Padres Sign Infielder Manny Machado to 10-Year Contract|work=[[MLB]]|date=February 21, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, the Padres went 37–23, finishing with a winning record for the first time since 2010. They went on to the playoffs, marking their first postseason appearance since 2006 and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2020 National League Wild Card Series, their first postseason series win since the 1998 NLCS. On February 2, 2021, the Padres extended Preller through the 2026 season and promoted him to president of baseball operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2021-02-02/padres-contract-extension-executives-erik-greupner-aj-preller-peter-seidler|title=Padres promote, extend contracts of top executives Greupner, Preller|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|first=Kevin|last=Acee|date=February 2, 2021|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> On February 17, the Padres extended Tatís Jr. to a 14-year, $340 million contract, at the time the third-biggest deal in MLB history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30920254/san-diego-padres-fernando-tatis-jr-agree-14-year-340-million-deal|title=Sources: San Diego Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. agree on 14-year, $340 million deal|work=[[ESPN]]|first=Jeff|last=Passan|date=February 17, 2021|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> On August 2nd, 2022 Preller completed a blockbuster trade with the [[Washington Nationals]] for [[Right fielder]] [[Juan Soto ]] and [[First baseman]] [[Josh Bell (first baseman)|Josh Bell]]. In exchange, the Nationals recieved [[Luke Voit]] and top prospects [[CJ Abrams]], [[MacKenzie Gore]], [[Washington_Nationals_minor_league_players#James_Wood|James Wood]], [[Washington_Nationals_minor_league_players#Jarlín_Susana|Jarlin Susana]]. On December 9th, 2022 Preller signed longtime [[Boston Red Sox|Boston Red Sox ]] [[Shortstop]] [[Xander Bogaerts]] to an 11 year 280 million contract. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.mlb.com/padres/team/front-office/a-j-preller San Diego Padres bio] {{S-start}} {{Succession box | title = [[San Diego Padres]] [[General Manager (baseball)|General Manager]] | before = [[Josh Byrnes]] | after = current | years = 2014-present }} {{S-end}} {{San Diego Padres}} {{San Diego Padres general managers}} {{MLBGenManager}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Preller, A. J.}} [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:Cornell University alumni]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers executives]] [[Category:Major League Baseball central office executives]] [[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]] [[Category:People from Long Island]] [[Category:Philadelphia Phillies personnel]] [[Category:San Diego Padres executives]] [[Category:Sportspeople from New York (state)]] [[Category:Texas Rangers executives]]'