Padres’ A.J. Preller does some of his best work in February

Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Sports)

The month of February is here. For the Padres, time is running short to improve the team. Luckily, A.J. Preller seems to do some of his best work in this short month.
Spring Training is almost here. Pitchers and catchers report next week. Yet, the 2025 Padres feel incomplete. They still need to add talent to the MLB roster. A.J. Preller even alluded to it during FanFest last weekend.
Preller says he expects the Padres to enter the season with “a championship roster.” He adds: “Gotta add a bat or two, gotta add an arm or two.” https://t.co/s5P2Pouqrc
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) February 1, 2025
Luckily for the Padres, fans, and Preller, it’s February, not March or April. Historically, this has been a busy month for Preller. Let’s look back at some of the bigger deals he has done during the shortest month on the calendar during his time as general manager of the Padres.
February 11, 2015- Signed free agent SP James Shields
Padres fans remember well the frenzy that was the 2014-15 offseason. Preller basically became “rockstar GM” overnight. He made a flurry of trades in December 2014. The big-splash offseason seemed capped off by the big signing of free-agent pitcher James Shields. At the time, his four-year, $72 million deal was the largest in franchise history. He was an All-Star coming off of a solid season with the Royals, leading to an appearance in the World Series.
Did it work out for San Diego? You be the judge. He had an underwhelming 2015 campaign followed by a disastrous start to 2016. Then, he became part of one of the most important trades in Padres franchise history. He was dealt to the White Sox for a teenager named Fernando Tatis Jr.
Either way, Shields’ signing in February 2015 was perceived as the cherry on top of one of the most memorable offseasons in Padres history to that point.
February 4, 2016- Signed free agent RP Fernando Rodney
While this signing didn’t bring the same fanfare as Shields, it was an important point in the franchise. Rodney began his Padres career on one of the hottest heaters you will ever see from a relief pitcher. In 28 appearances for the Padres, he allowed one solitary earned run over 28 2/3 innings (0.31 ERA). Given the Padres fell out of contention in the 2016 season, he was one of the highest sought-after trade commodities of the trade deadline season. At the end of June, he was dealt to the Miami Marlins for a prospect named Chris Paddack. Paddack became a highly touted pitching prospect. For Preller to turn a 39-year-old reliever into a trade for a young pitching prospect was some of his most underrated work.
February 19, 2018- Padres sign free agent 1B Eric Hosmer
Say what you want about Eric Hosmer’s tenure in San Diego; his signing brought some serious buzz to the organization. His eight-year, $144 million deal blew the previous deals the Padres had done out of the water. It was an inflection point for the franchise. It sent a message to the world that the Padres would begin spending to try and compete. Hosmer was fresh off of a World Series run with the Royals and being All-Star Game MVP in 2016 when the game was at Petco Park.
Certainly, his deal is viewed differently now. He accumulated just 3.6 WAR in 4 1/2 seasons with San Diego, with a lackluster 103 OPS+. However, at the time, most fans were celebrating the fact that Preller and Padres were spending like the Big Boys.
February 21, 2019- Padres sign free agent 3B Manny Machado
This is perhaps the biggest of them all for February moves in the Preller era. Signing Eric Hosmer was one thing. He was getting past his peak with a declining bat. On the other hand, Machado was one of the best players in the world at the top of his game. In some ways, it reset the American sports market. His original 10-year, $300 million deal was briefly the largest in American sports history. And the Padres, of all teams, were the ones handing it out. It was truly the introduction of a new era of baseball in San Diego.
It was a painstaking process to court Machado, with the free agency frenzy lasting until the early parts of Spring Training. Machado, unlike Hosmer, has lived up to the contract in every way. After being a four-time All-Star in Baltimore, he has kept and even surpassed that momentum in many ways in a Padres uniform. In 2024, he cemented himself and Preller in Padres lore, becoming the Padres’ franchise home run king. He will certainly separate himself further from Nate Colbert‘s previous record as he plays for the Padres for several years to come.
The Padres franchise changed for the better during that mid-February run in 2019.
February 8, 2020- Traded Logan Driscoll and Manuel Margot to the Tampa Bay Rays for RP Emilio Pagán.
While most of Preller’s big moves in February have been free-agent signings, this was a trade. Preller looked to improve the bullpen by parting with former top prospect and everyday outfielder Manuel Margot to get Pagan from Tampa. Pagan had just turned in a stellar season with the Rays (2.31 ERA in 66 games). He never reached that kind of dominance in San Diego, but Preller certainly took a big swing with a February trade.

February 17, 2021- Padres extend Fernando Tatis Jr.
Big moves don’t necessarily always have to be bringing in outside talent. Retaining the most elite talent already on the team can be just as important. Tatis, while years away from actual free agency, agreed to a monster extension with Preller and the Padres. The 14-year, $340 million deal, at the time, was the third-largest contract in MLB history. Sure, things got rocky for the Padres and Tatis in the coming few years, but now that we are on the other end of those trials, this deal is a bargain. Tatis will play for the 2025 Padres for just under $21 million. For reference, Aaron Judge will earn $40 million this coming season alone. At this point, Tatis is playing on a bargain deal.
February 18, 2021-Signed free agent RP Mark Melancon
Everything else will pale in comparison to the signing of Manny Machado or extending superstar Fernando Tatis Jr., But the Padres inked All-Star closer Mark Melancon ahead of the 2021 season. The Padres did what they seem adept at doing throughout their history: roll out a stellar closer. After a few down years by his standards, Melancon turned in another All-Star campaign in San Diego. He led MLB with 39 saves, paired with a 2.23 ERA. Not bad for a 36-year-old reliever signed just as Spring Training began.
February 16, 2023- Signed free agent SP Michael Wacha
In what started a stretch of revitalizing veteran pitchers, the Padres inked Wacha in mid-February two years ago. It was something of an unheralded move at the time. Wacha proceeded to have the best season of his career, with a 3.22 ERA and 131 ERA+ in 134 innings. That led him to multiple raises pitching for the Kansas City Royals in 2024 and soon to be 2025 and beyond. He was one of the brightest spots for the Padres in an otherwise bitterly disappointing 2023 season.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.