Padres GM Gets Honest About Trading Top Prospect Leo De Vries in Deadline Shocker

Feb 19, 2025; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres infielder Leodalis De Vries poses for a portrait during Media Day at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller spoke about the decision to trade former Padres No. 1 prospect Leo De Vries at Thursday's deadline.

The Padres shipped out De Vries — and three top-30 pitching prospects — to the Athletics Thursday morning, bringing in All-Star closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears.

More news: Full Padres Trade Deadline Haul After Wild Day That Involved 22 Players, 5 Trades

“It’s the most difficult part of the job,” Preller said. “ … We have history with Leo since he was 13, 14 years old in terms of when we started following and scouting him. He’s going to be a very good major league player. We’ve talked about this in the past. There are going to be guys that we sign and scout and develop and we want them to do it at Petco at a championship level. … He’s asked about in every deal. He’s a very good player and a tremendous prospect and we weren’t going to do it unless we got the right fit and pieces.

“I think when you start looking at it overall, trying to hit three or four different needs and we tried to figure out different ways to do that and ultimately we ended up with the combination that we did today.”

De Vries is the No. 3 prospect in MLB, and has had a solid year in High-A at 18 years old. He slashed .245/.357/.410 with High-A Fort Worth before the trade with eight home runs and 46 RBIs through 82 games. He recorded his first hit with the A's High-A affiliate Thursday evening.

More news: Padres Make Another Trade, Acquire All-Star Starting Pitcher From NL Contender

The Padres made no shortage of trades on Thursday, shipping out 15 players — including 10 top-30 prospects — out to bolster their major league roster for the remainder of the season. Along with Miller and Sears, the Padres obtained catcher Freddy Fermin, infielder Will Wagner, designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, starter Nestor Cortes and minor league shortstop Jorge Quintana.

The Friars will see if their moves paid off on Friday, when they return to action against the St. Louis Cardinals at 6:40 p.m. PT.

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