When you ask for things in the universe in good faith, there's a good chance that they could come to fruition. The San Diego Padres probably just figured that out, because a day after Manny Machado said that general manager AJ Preller needed a contract extension, he indeed received it, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Padres and A.J. Preller have agreed to a contract extension,” Acee wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
This seemed like a no-brainer extension for the Padres, especially after the moves that he's made in his position. During the offseason, he was able to sign Nick Castellanos for the minimum after he was cut from the Philadelphia Phillies. With him being cut, he's still getting paid the $30 million that he signed for, which means he didn't particularly need another big contract, but there were probably teams offering it to him.
As for the Padres, Castellanos was probably sold on having a nice role with the team and the chance to win, and he signed for less than his market value.
That led Machado to lobby for Preller to get a contract extension, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“Manny Machado, who has known Nick Castellanos since they were kids in Miami, says Padres GM AJ Preller deserves an extension for ‘getting a $20 million player for pennies on the dollar,’” Nightengale wrote on X.
Now, with the moves that they've made and the roster that has been put together, it's up to them to go put the work in and win some games this season
