Padres Columnist Wonders if Mike Shildt is AJ Preller's Last Chance in San Diego
The San Diego Padres have been one of the more active teams over the last few years, and it has seen them build a roster full of All-Star talent. However, they have nothing to show for it except one run to the NLCS in 2022.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is regarded as one of the best in the business in obtaining talent, but he has seen little success as the person running the team. The organization has gone through manager after manager, but the same things continue to happen. So, at some point, something has to give, right?
Well, columnist Bryce Miller for The San Diego Union-Tribune believes that his latest hiring of manager Mike Shildt could be his final chance.
“On the surface, you have to think this is the last shot for A.J. Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations. He’s been stitching together teams in San Diego since late 2014 with no division titles and one full-season playoff appearance. It’s been a run filled with bold stabs, wild spending and highs sandwiched by bewildering lows.”
This could be the final stand for Preller as the person in charge of the Padres. The team has plenty of talent on the roster, and they are coming off a terrible season that saw them miss the postseason.
If the team can't find success, Preller may be the one to get the boot. He has tried multiple times over the years to change the culture in the organization, but it has been more of the same.
“How many general managers survive that many chances, that much churn and nearly a decade without as much as a whiff of challenging for a division crown?”
The team only gave Shildt a two-year contract, which is a rarity for someone nowadays. Maybe they want to see how this plays out, and if it doesn't work, the ownership will overhaul everything.
Now, Preller is good at building up the farm system and accumulating talent. But the issue is that it hasn't translated to wins on the field.
“The clock is ticking, more loudly by the minute. One more chance? Maybe. On paper, yes. Absolutely. Given the flux inside the Padres front office, though, that seems impossible to predict.”
We live in a results-driven world, and right now, Preller is falling behind in that aspect. The shortcomings could see him be shown the door, and this feels like his last attempt to turn this thing around.
You can read Miller's full column by clicking here.
