Twas the night before the postseason, when all through the park,
Not a friar was stirring, not even a spark;
The jerseys were hung in the clubhouse with care,
In hopes that victory would soon be theirs

The Padres head into Chicago on Tuesday with deep postseason aspirations.

For the first time since 2005 and 2006, San Diego has clinched back-to-back postseason births.

Moreover, for the first time since the franchise joined the MLB as an expansion team in 1969, the team has won 90 or more games in back-to-back seasons.

Lastly, and perhaps most notably, for the first time ever, the Padres’ future may look just as bright as their current outlook. With superstars such as future Hall of Famer Manny Machado and fan favorite Fernando Tatis Jr. locked into long-term deals, General Manager A.J. Preller has done a stellar job constructing the roster, and he deserves his roses–regardless of how the series in Chicago goes.

Regardless of whether the friars go down swinging, win in three, or sweep the Cubs, Preller deserves his moment. The GM was hired by the Padres in 2014. Coming into San Diego in 2014, Preller took over the helm of one of Major League Baseball’s historically least successful franchises. At the time, the Padres had made the playoffs only five times in their 45-year history and had last qualified for the playoffs nearly a decade earlier, in 2006.

Things were soon to change in San Diego.

After the O’Malley group purchased the Padres in 2012, it was clear new majority owner Peter Seidler was intent on one thing: bringing a World Series victory to America’s Finest City. With Seidler and Preller, the Padres had a dynamic duo, forging an unstoppable force; one with a bold vision, the other crafting it into reality with flair. Over the next year, from 2014 to 2015, Preller began making significant moves that, for the first time in decades, put the Padres back on the map and on the league’s radar.

Preller made numerous transactions during the 2014-2015 offseason, acquiring players such as Matt Kemp and Will Middlebrooks. Preller pulled off a three-team trade for star infielder Wil Myers, traded for Justin Upton, and Derek Norris. In 2016, Preller landed prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. via trade, an under-the-radar move at the time. These moves put the Padres in playoff discussion before the season, but they did not translate to success. Preller kept his head down, marching forward.

The moves just kept coming and kept getting bigger and bigger. In February 2018, the Padres signed star Eric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144 million contract, the largest in club history at the time. The next year, Preller doubled that move, signing Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract. At the time, it was the largest free-agent contract in American sports history.

Quite possibly the most impressive aspect of all, on top of everything else, Preller has also established himself as a premier talent spotter and scout. Over the last ten years Preller has scouted and brought to the Padres countless all-star players through international signings and the draft, including but not limited to Pitchers Cal Quantrill, Adrian Morejon, MacKenzie Gore, David Bednar, Ryan Weathers, Robby Snelling, and Bradgley Rodriguez, infielders Xavier Edwards, CJ Abrams, Ethan Salas, and Leo De Vries, and outfielders Robert Hassell III, James Wood, and Jackson Merrill.

His successful scouting and farm system have allowed Preller to consistently make significant trades in the market. This was a large reason the Padres landed Juan Soto in 2022. Additionally, one of the biggest challenges Preller has faced is a demand from above to reduce payroll in 2023 and again in 2024. Across that time, the Padres had to let superstar talent walk, including Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Reliever Tanner Scott, All-Star outfielder Jurikson Profar, and infielder Ha-Seong Kim. Preller, moreover, elected to trade Juan Soto, whom he knew the Padres could not afford to re-sign, a trade that yielded San Diego three starting pitchers.

Despite being told to peel back the payroll two years in a row, Preller has made improvements. Trades for players such as Ryan O’ Hearn and Luis Arraez have highlighted Preller’s ability to keep his foot on the gas even in light of this reduction. Despite the reduction, San Diego finished with 90+ wins for the second year in a row and eclipsed their records of 2022 and 2023, when they had a higher payroll.

Additionally, the signing of manager Mike Shildt has proven to be crucial. After Bob Melvin decided to walk, Preller had a big decision to make, and he nailed it. Under Shildt’s watch, the Padres have reached these historic highs in win marks and have played arguably some of the best baseball in the franchise’s history.

While Preller has never been perfect, that was never the argument. After five playoff appearances in 45 years, Preller has landed San Diego in the Fall Classic four times in the past six seasons, and the Padres show no signs of slowing down. Regardless of what happens in Chicago on Tuesday, Preller has in every way possible positioned San Diego for a deep playoff run, and to that he is owed a tip of the hat.

A.J. Preller has instilled hope in a sports city that was once hopeless. He has returned the fans to the seats, glued us to our TV sets, and, as Peter Seidler once so famously said, “One year soon, the baseball gods will smile on the San Diego Padres and we will have a parade.” Keep the faith.

Billy Seidlitz

Billy has spent a majority of his life following San Diego sports and worked in San Diego for many years. Now residing in Newport Beach he recently obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Chapman University and now works as an Associate Personal Injury Attorney. Billy enjoys supporting the Padres and SDFC from Orange County and making the drive down for big games. He is passionate about analytics and writing about sports.