Amid another Padres manager search, GM A.J. Preller’s future remains uncertain

SAN DIEGO — Amid extraordinary turnover in the manager’s chair, shifting power dynamics atop the organization, and continued on-field success despite the lingering presence of some internal strife, longtime San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller faces renewed questions about his job security.

This week, as the franchise contended with the fallout from Mike Shildt’s resignation as manager and reports of his conflicts with coaches and others in the organization, team sources indicated that another contract extension for Preller is possible but not guaranteed.

Preller’s collection of high-priced, marquee players has helped energize a previously dormant market, transforming the team into a sellout machine while cementing Petco Park as one of baseball’s premier destinations. In the last two years, Preller and Shildt oversaw the first pair of consecutive 90-win seasons in team history, a departure for a franchise that had largely been defined by losing. Yet, Preller’s future remains uncertain as he approaches the final year of his current deal.

His situation stands in contrast to another leader of the franchise. In 2024, CEO Erik Greupner, who already held a small stake in the team, quietly received a multi-year extension while working under interim control person Eric Kutsenda, according to multiple people inside and outside the organization. Greupner, like Preller, had already been extended by late owner Peter Seidler through the 2026 season. Greupner’s equity in the club and his latest extension, which was struck during a year of 93 wins and record attendance, had not been previously reported.

Over the last two years, team sources said, employees throughout the organization noticed increasing tension between Preller and Greupner, whose influence has grown. Some point to the fact that, despite stylistic and personality differences, the long-tenured executives have together presided over a marketable product on and off the field.

“Erik and I have been together my entire time here and enjoy a strong and productive working relationship,” Preller said in a statement to The Athletic on Thursday.

Still, the arrangement — with Greupner secured long term and Preller nearing the final year of his contract — has raised questions that hint at the potential for more friction.

Why was Preller not extended last year, when Greupner and Shildt were? Was Preller overruled by Kutsenda and Greupner in the original decision to name Shildt manager, as some in the industry suspect, and will the selection process be different this time around? Is Preller, removed from the rare flexibility and close relationship he enjoyed with Seidler, comfortable remaining in San Diego when others were extended before him? And, finally, would the Padres give their next manager a multi-year deal while risking the perception of employing a lame-duck general manager?

“That’s not an ideal situation, right?” said a Padres official who was not authorized to speak publicly. “In a perfect world, you’d always want (corresponding) terms, lengths with GMs and managers.”

The Padres already were not operating in a perfect world — Shildt was under contract for one year longer than Preller — but for now, the leaders of the franchise are offering few answers. Greupner declined to comment. Kutsenda, a minority owner who now serves in an advisory role, did not respond to a message seeking comment. Team chairman John Seidler, Peter’s older brother, said in a statement last month that “all discussions about the future will take place at the appropriate time in the offseason.” Tuesday, in a videoconference with reporters, Preller was asked multiple times if he expected to continue in his role in 2026 and beyond. He largely sidestepped those questions.

If Preller should wish to explore other options outside San Diego, the landscape is limited. The Colorado Rockies are the only team with an opening for their head of baseball operations. Toronto Blue Jays executive and former Houston Astros GM James Click, Kansas City Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman have interviewed for that position.

For Preller to become involved, the Padres would need to grant permission for the Rockies to speak to him and allow him out of the final year of his contract, the way they did with Bob Melvin when he left to become manager of the San Francisco Giants.

In the meantime, Preller echoed what he said Tuesday when asked about his contract status.

“I love the Padres and the city of San Diego,” Preller said in his statement. “I’m proud of what we’ve all built here and am looking forward to the offseason work ahead.” He declined to comment further.

Since Peter Seidler’s death on Nov. 14, 2023, Preller and Greupner have each reported to Kutsenda, the late owner’s longtime business partner, and now John Seidler. At the same time, the dynamic atop the organization appears to have changed. According to team officials, Greupner has wielded greater influence than he previously had.

That helped explain a major personnel move in the fall of 2023. Shildt was announced as the team’s new manager on Nov. 21, and while Preller respected Shildt for his baseball acumen and work ethic, club sources said, the GM’s personal preference was to select then-bench coach and offensive coordinator Ryan Flaherty as manager. Flaherty, now the Chicago Cubs’ bench coach, began his coaching career with the Padres in late 2019. He is expected to again be a managerial candidate in San Diego.

Two years ago, however, a more collective hiring decision might have been expected. Weeks before Peter Seidler’s death, the most expensive team in franchise history had ended its season as also the most disappointing. Preller, during his Padres tenure, had been given unprecedented resources while he churned through more managers — including three first-time managers — and coaches than any GM in baseball.

The subsequent appointment of Shildt, a former National League Manager of the Year with the St. Louis Cardinals, was intended to stop the churn. The Padres proceeded to make back-to-back appearances in October, falling early in each postseason yet still marking one of the winningest stretches in the franchise’s often-dismal history. Meanwhile, some coaches and staffers privately complained of harsh treatment by Shildt, who had acquired a reputation as a micromanager before the Cardinals fired him without warning in 2021.

Monday, Shildt announced what he and the Padres described as his “retirement.” The 57-year-old baseball lifer cited a physical and mental toll. He publicly expressed gratitude toward Preller. A day later, the executive responded in kind. Both men pushed back against suggestions that behind-the-scenes conflict had led to the end of their working relationship.

“Listen, human beings are involved at a high level with high competition,” Shildt said in a phone interview Monday. “The thing that I appreciated about A.J. is you can have very honest, healthy, transparent conversations. And it’s all for the greater good of us winning baseball games.”

Preller agreed.

“There’s always going to be tension in a high-performance atmosphere. There’s going to be disagreements,” he said. “I think that’s healthy. And I think that’s the nature when you spend 180 days together (in a season) with different people.”

What people throughout the organization and the industry agreed upon was that Shildt’s seemingly voluntary departure might have been to Preller’s benefit. The GM’s list of managers who were either dismissed or not retained already included Bud Black, Pat Murphy, Andy Green, Jayce Tingler and Bob Melvin.

“They can’t fire another one (under Preller),” one rival manager wrote in a text message. “Just can’t.”

Said a Padres coach: “I think it’s a working-out-for-everybody kind of thing.”

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Preller said the search for another manager would begin immediately. He attempted to explain the amount of turnover in the Padres’ most front-facing role. “Each situation,” Preller said, “has been a little different.” He touted a core of established players and staffing continuity in other parts of the organization.

“A lot of us now have been together for a long time,” Preller said. He went on to list, among other people, Greupner, pitching coaches Ruben Niebla and Ben Fritz, a few baseball operations executives, the team’s head athletic trainer and the media relations staff.

“I think the idea is similar to those other areas that I outlined,” Preller added. “It’s to have a manager that’s here for 10 years, just like a lot of other people in this organization have.”

While that remains an especially aspirational goal in San Diego, Shildt is not the first high-ranking employee to depart in the last two years. Melvin, whose strained relationship with Preller became an ill-kept secret, was allowed to become manager of the rival San Francisco Giants in October 2023. Six months later, assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr., then the longest-tenured member of the organization, resigned to pursue other opportunities. Last December, with the Padres coming off a trip to the National League Division Series, vice president of baseball systems Wells Oliver left after 15 seasons in the organization to work in a similar role for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The latter two exits were described by current and former employees as amicable. That did not stop some teams from wondering what was behind their departures.

Now, another manager is gone. The longtime GM is approaching the final year of his contract. And the Padres once again find themselves under an unusual spotlight.