Padres GM AJ Preller Wants to Solidify Major Extension This Offseason

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 24, 2024

July 24, 2020; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller looks on before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres coaching staff deserves a ton of credit after leading this year's team back to the playoffs after slashing $90 million in payroll.

General manager A.J. Preller would like the group to remain intact.

“That’s going to be something that we look to do here over the course of the next couple weeks, is trying to see if we can line up with Mike and the coaching staff,” Preller said on Monday. “and having a group that’s shown that they can get results and did a good job … and making sure that that people feel rewarded. … We have some people that are together in that area, and from a coaching standpoint, that are able to come back and kind of build and grow on what we did this year.”

While Preller did mention possibilities of Jurickson Profar, Kyle Higashioka, and Ha-Seong Kim returning next season, the most concrete answer he gave was about the coaching staff.

“The identity is only as strong as its challenges and we were challenged a lot this year, and our identity only got stronger,” Shildt said earlier this month at Dodger Stadium. “It’s now part of who we are. … That’s why I can feel good about moving forward, that we stand for something that we believe in, how we play and compete, how we do it together, that will only get stronger and allow us to continue to have these moments in the postseason and beyond.”

Shildt signed a two-year contract with the Padres when Bob Melvin left for San Francisco. Now, Preller and Padres are ready to discuss his future in San Diego beyond 2025.

“He obviously enjoys it here, wants to be here, but I know his focus also is just go get better,” Preller said. “And if you do that, then I think he has a lot of trust and faith that things … from an organization standpoint, that we’ll figure some things out there.”

Pitching coach Ruben Niebla signed a three-year deal in 2023 and some believe he could be management material but it is unknown whether he has interview for either vacant jobs with the Chicago White Sox or Miami Marlins.

“He’s capable of doing a lot,” Preller said. “We’re hoping it’s with the Padres and I feel confident he likes his time (here). He really loves the organization, loves it here, loves the city. And that’s conversations for the next couple of weeks. And my guess is we’ll line up on something there.”