AJ Preller's Future With Padres Addressed Following Ownership Change

The San Diego Padres kicked off a new era on Monday with José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones being introduced as the new owners of the organization.

The purchase of the club was officially approved last week, with the $3.9 billion sale being the highest ever for an MLB team. The new owners came in with an energetic press conference, saying all the right things to their new fanbase.

Within, the future of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller came up. Preller's job has been in question since the sale, considering that oftentimes new ownership groups like to replace staff with people they choose to bring in.

But at this point, it seems that Preller may be safe. The new owners have said that they like how Preller has run the team, doubling down on this during the press conference.

“I don’t want to sound like the baseball executive here,” Feliciano said. “We’ll work with A.J., we’ll work with [CEO Erik Greupner]. We have been blessed with a team in a city that is supporting us in a way that is allowing us to invest back in that team, in the stadium, in the city, and we’re committed to doing that."

Preller has been with the Padres for nearly 12 years, with the team seeing an uptick in success on the field. While the Padres haven't won the World Series yet, the organization has been among the better teams in the league since the turn of the decade.

San Diego has made the postseason in four of the last six years, with the club bringing in multiple stars to help them win. Preller has been at the center of all of this, as he is among the most aggressive front office executives in baseball.

A.J. Preller Comments on New Ownership Group

The long-term executive is looking forward to working with the new owners, for however long they decide to keep him around.

“Looking forward to having somebody who, like, this is theirs,” Preller said. “They’re all in. There’s no question about the future and what it all means. That’s always the best relationships — when you have clear, ‘Hey, this is the owner.’ And you can really start looking at the one-, three- and five year plans and start putting some things down on paper and start executing that. Definitely looking forward to that."

The Padres have been one of the top spending organizations in baseball over the last six years, leading to success on the field. The new owners plan to keep that going strong, even if it means potentially cutting some spending in different areas.

“We are going to live within our means, and that could mean different things in different years. But again, we want to win, and we’re going to continue supporting that goal in many different ways, " Feliciano said. "And that means that at some moments, we’re going to be aggressive. … But we’re always going to do it with keeping the long-term health of the team in mind, and I think those are things that we’re going to balance.”

However, the new owners wanted to make sure that the fans understand that winning is still the ultimate goal.

“We are competitive. You don’t get to do what we do unless you are competitive, and it’s important for all of you all to understand that we want to win," Jones said.

The comments from the new owners all sound good, but now it's time for them to live up to it all. If they can do that, the city of San Diego will rally around this team and the new ownership group as they aim to finally win their first World Series title.

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