The San Diego Padres and general manager AJ Preller agreed to a contract extension, as he was heading into the final year of his contract. This felt like a no-brainer for the Padres after all the key moves that he's made at the position, and the more recent one being signing Nick Castellanos after he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Everyone around Preller seems to be excited, even manager Craig Stammen, who had quite the joke when asked about the contract extension.
“My wife got an extension?” Stammen said via ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.
Manny Machado recently put it out to the public that he thought Preller deserved an extension.
“I mean, you talk about getting a $20 million player for pennies on the dollar, I think that kind of deserves an extension for AJ,” Machado said.
Lo and behold, a day after those comments, Preller received his extension.
“I'm incredibly grateful to John [Seidler], Erik Greupner and our ownership group for their continued trust in me and the vision we have for this organization,” Preller said in a statement. “San Diego is a special place, and I'm proud of the progress we've made over the last decade while knowing there's still more work to be done. I'm excited for the Padres' future and fully committed to bringing a championship to our fans and this city.”
Preller has helped the team make the playoffs in four of the past six seasons, and with his ability to land star talent, it has led them to stay in the mix as one of the better teams in MLB.
