Padres' AJ Preller Reveals Why He Has No Problem Trading Potential Future Stars in Blockbuster Deals

Oct 17, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller speaks on the phone during NLCS workouts at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller addressed his approach to making trades and explained his process when handling prospects.

Preller is well-known for wheeling and dealing over the offseason and the trade deadline. He is a baseball executive who takes an aggressive approach to improving the roster.

This time, on July 31, Preller traded away top prospect Leo De Vries — one of the best prospects in baseball — in a deal that landed Mason Miller from the Athletics.

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The deal is just one of the many big swings from Preller, who previously dealt top prospects James Wood and MacKenzie Gore for superstar Juan Soto.

Preller, in an interview with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, opened up about his thought process when making these aggressive deals that many in baseball are scared to make.

“It pains me to trade players,” Preller told Acee. “But I hope people are starting to get the sense that you can make trades and have good players go elsewhere and play well, and your guys come here and play well.

"You can have sustainability. Because you can, you can continue to replenish and have possibilities. Like, those are all good things. That’s good for the game. It’s good for other teams to see that.

“I think that’s also why we’re able to make these deals. Because I think that people know now we’re not trying to pull a fast one. Like, we’re going to trade some good-ass players — Josh Naylor, Andrés Muñoz, James Wood, MacKenzie Gore. We’re going to move some guys.

"You can’t fit them all on one roster. We’re gonna get some great players back. And you can do both things. And that’s probably a little different. But I think people are understanding that makes some sense.”

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Preller's approach has not yielded a World Series title, but it has established the Padres as a genuine contender that has been among the best in baseball for years.

Unfortunately for San Diego, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered a golden age at the same time of their rise, making their success look minor compared to their northern rivals.

No matter how the Miller or Soto trade age, Preller is going to keep swinging for the fences in the winter and next summer until his ultimate goal is finally reached.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.