Tom Krasovic: Padres' A.J. Preller has a hot hand when it comes to landing pitchers

SAN DIEGO — Between now and baseball’s summer trade deadline, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will devote considerable time to landing a number of starting pitchers.

Really, it’s a job that never ends for any baseball team’s team-builder.

Never have so many pitchers been needed to win a World Series. Pitchers are breaking down more often, all while being enticed to max out on velocity and spin. Beyond the grueling 162-game season, the expanded World Series tournament puts extreme demand on pitchers.

Little wonder, then, that in pursuit of last season’s trophy, Preller kept adding starting pitchers. Even after obtaining three starters headed by Michael King from the Yankees in December’s Juan Soto trade, Preller went after others. In spring training, he landed Dylan Cease in a trade with the White Sox. In late July, he got Martín Pérez from the Pirates

King, 28, figures to head the Padres’ next rotation.

Cease, who’ll be 29, will command a big raise soon as he enters his walk year. Pencil him as Preller’s No. 2 starter. But a trade wouldn’t be shocking, given that Cease threw more pitches last season than all but two others.

As for for the ’25 rotation’s other starters beyond Yu Darvish, 38, and other in-house candidates, they’re not with the Padres. They’re either free agents or under another team’s control.

Bumpy start

If “Young A.J.” were still on the job, the team’s upcoming pitching search wouldn’t inspire great confidence.

Three months after Preller became a rookie general manager, he traded a 20-year-old pitching prospect to the Braves. As it turned out, Max Fried was a future ace who would help Atlanta win the 2021 World Series.

The same month saw him deal another pitching prospect he inherited, Zach Eflin. That trade benefited the Dodgers and Phillies — but not the Padres.

Another “oops” move — the signing of veteran free agent James Shields — came just two months later. But Preller more than salvaged that one, dealing Shields for Fernando Tatis Jr. a year later.

Not all of Preller’s evaluations of starting pitchers were off, but this was clear: the young GM needed to improve.

For sure, he has.

Hot streak

Dating from four offseasons ago to this past summer, Preller has made no fewer than eight bountiful moves for starting pitchers.

In order, they were the trades for big leaguers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove leading into the 2021 season; the free-agent signings of big leaguers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha ahead of the 2023 season; and the additions of big leaguers King, Cease and Pérez to the 2024 team.

Beyond Preller and staff improving at talent evaluations, a few explainers can be gleaned from Preller’s turnaround.

One, Peter Seidler’s commitment to spending undergirded the opportunistic trades for Darvish, Snell and Musgrove. Each came soon after the pandemic-shortened season in which all MLB clubs saw revenues plummet. The three selling teams — the Cubs, Rays and Pirates — desired salary relief.

The trade for Darvish, in December 2020, is known to have angered Dodgers scouts. (Presciently so, it turned out; Darvish’s two gems last month, two years after he beat them in the playoffs, nearly eliminated the Dodgers from the postseason.) Preller likely learned Cubs ownership was feeling the pandemic crunch and was eager to move the 34-year-old Darvish’s contract.

Also, Preller knew a lot about Darvish from their Rangers days.

Another factor in Preller’s pitching gains: his hire of pitching coach Ruben Niebla in October 2021. And in later offseasons, the GM found another fruitful niche by adding a pair of former relievers, Lugo and King, who sought to become starters.

Patience seemed to serve Preller well in his trade for Cease. That move didn’t come until deep in spring training. As for Pérez, he was another ex-Rangers colleague/friend.

Preller and staff’s evolving efforts in Latin America created leverage, too. Eight Padres prospects among those amateur signings were packaged into the trades for Darvish, Musgrove, Snell, Cease and Perez.

Don’t overlook Petco Park. Pitchers want to pitch there, especially a year before free agency, as was true of Wacha and Lugo.

Although a track record isn’t always predictive, Preller’s apparent expertise in moves for starting pitchers improves the Padres’ outlook for next season.