The San Diego Padres have a reputation around Major League Baseball of being aggressive when it comes to improving their roster.
With the impending MLB lockout, the Padres appear to be up against the clock to make the necessary free agency moves before the current pay structure of professional baseball is potentially changed.
President of baseball operations AJ Preller has a new set of owners behind him ahead of the offseason — and owners who appear to be committed to a future of winning. In past offseasons, it was evident that the Padres were looking to shed payroll and balance a large budget, but if a lockout theoretically impacts the future spending of the club, Preller is fully focused on doing what he can before the end of the league year.
“The biggest thing we’re focused on is what our strategy is going to be — how prepared we’re going to be for that,” Preller said. “That’s what we focus on. And then we’ll get a feel for the market that first week in November —the next couple weeks and definitely right around GM meeting time [Nov. 9-12] — then be prepared to move on things that we think make sense for us.”
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee, there is optimism from the organization that the new owners will add their own capital in hopes to get San Diego back to October. They're also expected to act fast.
"According to people inside the organization, preliminary conversations have indicated the Padres will be more proactive this offseason," Acee wrote. "That could mean pouncing early in the offseason."
The expectations and spending put into place from the late Peter Seidler and bloating the payroll to the third-highest appears to be out of the question per Acee, but Preller might just be the perfect president of baseball operations for the task at hand.
Preller is among the most aggressive team executives in the sport, but can also be very budget-friendly when needed.
From Jackson Merrill's team-friendly long-term contract to finding effective veterans on low-cost deals like signing Ty France to a minor league deal this past offseason, Preller's resume speaks for itself.
As things currently stand, the Padres have a long list of free agents, but this presents tons of opportunity for Preller and Co. The starting rotation will essentially have to be rebuilt and the new bats added to the lineup will be dictated by who is brought back and what they are offered.
With many suitable options across free agency, striking early and aggressively may prove to lay the groundwork of a successful next October.
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