The fretting was for naught.
The man who has built (and rebuilt) the Padres into a perennial contender will continue to lead that effort.
The Padres announced on Monday morning that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has received a multi-year contract extension. His current six-year deal was set to expire after the upcoming season.
While Preller’s status had become a source of angst for fans and had even seen star third baseman Manny Machado politic on his behalf, this was the expected outcome all along.
Numerous people with knowledge of the talks between Preller and team chairman John Seidler maintained for months, including late last week, that the deal would get done.
Preller took over the Padres’ baseball operations in August 2014 and is the second-longest tenured manager in the major leagues behind the Yankees’ Brian Cashman.
The Padres were woeful for the first five seasons under Preller’s direction, as they remade the farm system and aimed for the 2020s as the opening of their window of contention.
Beginning with the 2020 season, the Padres have made the postseason four times in six years, an unprecedented stretch in the franchise’s 57-year history.
This article will be updated.