The San Diego Padres continue to be a focal point of trade discussions at the MLB Winter Meetings, but team President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding potential moves this offseason.
Speaking from his hotel suite in Orlando, where baseball's Winter Meetings are taking place, Preller acknowledged the team's active involvement in trade conversations without revealing specifics.
"Teams call because they like your players. I think we've had a lot of conversation, a lot of incoming phone calls, and in the offseason, you listen," Preller said.
The Padres are reportedly shopping for starting pitching at the Winter Meetings, with the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting that Preller is aiming high in his pursuit of talent. However, the exact targets remain unclear and may not be revealed until later in the offseason.
Preller emphasized that the team won't rush into any deals simply because they're at the Winter Meetings.
"Just because you're at the Winter Meetings doesn't mean you have to line up on something right now. I think we go into it, if something fits for our team both now and in the future, we'll look at that and consider that," Preller said.
One option the Padres had been considering was converting relief pitchers like Mason Miller or Adrian Morejon into starting roles. However, new manager Craig Stammen downplayed this possibility during recent media appearances.
"As far as starting, I think we're still having those conversations, but leaning towards those guys staying in their current roles, and just being valuable assets that we deploy throughout different parts of the game," Stammen said.
Preller echoed those sentiments later in the day.
"You don't want to take away from a big strength and then look up and have a few different units that are just average," Preller said.
In other Padres news, both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado will represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic this March.
"I know they're excited to play for their country and that they're big pieces to that team, too, of their success," Stammen said.
As part of his preparation for his first season as manager, Stammen visited Tatis in the Dominican Republic earlier this offseason to build their relationship and discuss team goals.
"He had his chef cook for us. We ate in his house. It was a blast. We talked some baseball, talked about how the team could get better, how he personally could get better. I thought it was a great conversation and set us off right for the offseason and to be ready for the season," Stammen said.
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