Revisiting AJ Preller's Wildest Trade Deadline Moves Ahead of Another Potential Padres Splash

As the Padres teeter between oblivion and wild-card reality, all eyes are on president of baseball A.J. Preller heading into Monday’s trade deadline.

That’s how it always is with Preller. In his 12 ½ seasons in charge, he’s developed a reputation for wheeling and dealing at a dizzying and sometimes eye-popping pace at the deadline.

It’s hard to tell what this trade deadline will bring. The Padres have gotten themselves back into the wild-card chase, although they’re still on the outside looking in. Preller and his staff will have to decide if it's enough of a realistic shot to buy, or if they’ll need to retrench and sell.

A year ago at the trade deadline, the Padres were solidly in the third wild-card spot when Preller made five trades involving 22 players — including a dozen top prospects leaving — to rebuild his roster.

The big one was the acquisition of fireballing reliever Mason Miller. The reshaped roster did indeed sneak into the postseason before flaming out in a three-game wild-card loss at the Chicago Cubs.

Here’s a look back at a handful of Preller’s most-memorable deadline deals. Despite Preller’s best efforts, the Padres still haven’t had that elusive World Series Parade that late owner Peter Seidler envisioned.

The Juan Soto Blockbuster

Preller went all in at the deadline in 2022 with a whopper of a deal that landed Juan Soto, a generational talent who at 23 had already won a World Series. Also coming over from the Washington Nationals was first baseman Josh Bell. Before they had the chance to suit up for their new team, they caused a buzz among the fans when they arrived in San Diego on a private jet late that night.

The introductory news conference was a doozy. When asked about San Diego’s offense, Soto said: "I wish good luck to the other pitchers."

Afterward, super-agent Scott Boras, as he often does, painted a fantastical image when he said: “Today is kind of a recognition of, I guess, in the MLB constellation, the star Soto is one of its brightest, and I’m sure he’s now with kind of that USS San Diego, where he can guide them to championship waters.”

Well, they came close before the good ship Padres floundered, accompanied by tons of drama, which started that day.

The Padres intended to include Eric Hosmer in the deal, but he invoked his no-trade clause. That forced the Padres to include fan favorite Luke Voit in the haul headed back to Washington.

San Diego then traded Hosmer to Boston.

Just 10 days after the trade, star shortstop Fernando Tatis was on the cusp of returning from a wrist injury when he was handed an 80-game PED suspension by MLB.

The Padres eliminated the hated Dodgers in a stirring NL Division Series to reach the NL Championship Series, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

The cost for Soto was steep. Among the six players going back to Washington were top young players shortstop CJ Abrams, outfielder James Wood, left-hander MacKenzie Gore and center fielder Robert Hassell III, their No. 1 prospect.

Padres fans still cringe when Abrams or Wood do something big.

Abrams was a first-round draft pick in 2019 who made his big league debut earlier that season with the Padres. He’s now a two-time All-Star, including this season. Wood made his debut with Washington in 2024 and is also a two-time All-Star who is in the midst of his second straight 30-homer season.

Gore was a first-rounder in 2017 and also debuted with San Diego in 2022. He was an All-Star last year before being traded to Texas in the offseason.

During his tenure with the Padres, there were always nagging questions about whether the Padres could afford to sign Soto to the massive long-term deal everyone knew he’d be seeking.

The Padres envisioned Soto being with them for three playoff runs. It turned out to be just that 2022 postseason. The Padres had one of their odd-year collapses in 2023 and missed the playoffs.

Soto was shipped to the New York Yankees along with outfielder Trent Grisham in another blockbuster that December. That trade netted the Padres six players, including current pitchers Michael King and Randy Vásquez

Josh Hader

This trade is remembered for what didn’t happen, as opposed to what might have.

Hader was obtained from Milwaukee for five players the day before the Soto deal and sat in the home dugout talking with the media about the Padres’ World Series chances.

Trailing three games to one, the Padres had a one-run lead with no outs in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS at Philadelphia when left-hander Bryce Harper hit a series-deciding, two-run homer off right-hander Robert Suarez.

Then-manager Bob Melvin was questioned for not using the left-handed Hader. During his wrap-up news conference a few days later, Melvin offered a tortured explanation. Late in the 2023 season, Hader declined to come into a game in the eighth, feeling that the season was lost, and then explained his long-running reluctance to get more than three outs.

That didn’t sit well with the fans and Hader left as a free agent after the season.

Mason Miller

Preller obtained Miller and starter JP Sears from the A’s in the most notable of five trades at last year’s deadline that brought in seven big leaguers. Again, the cost was steep. Top prospect Leo De Vries headed to the A’s along with three other players.

Miller’s acquisition bolstered an already air-tight bullpen but it didn’t get them far. The Padres were ousted in three games by the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round, but Miller provided one of the few October highlights with a 104.5-mph pitch in a Game 2 win, the fastest ever recorded in postseason play since tracking began in 2008.

This season he’s blossomed into the game’s best closer and is the centerpiece of any argument on whether the Padres should sell or buy.

Mike Clevinger

In a ground-shaking deadline deal during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Preller acquired the right-hander, outfielder Greg Allen and pitcher Matt Waldron as the player to be named from Cleveland for six players, including Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges and Cal Quantrill.

Clevinger developed elbow discomfort and had to leave two late-season starts, including Game 1 of the NLDS loss to the Dodgers.

In one of the most interesting news releases ever issued, the Padres announced that November that Clevinger was both having Tommy John surgery and agreeing to a two-year deal. He missed 2021 and returned in 2022, when he made two postseason starts. He then left as a free agent.

Footnote: On the same day the Padres acquired Clevinger, they sent Ty France to Seattle in a seven-player trade. It was the first of three times France has been traded. He returned to San Diego this spring as a free agent.

There are more. Many more. And perhaps more to come.

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