A.J. Preller apparently packed light for the offseason. Only a week after the San Diego Padres were bounced from the playoffs, San Diego’s president of baseball ops did what he always does in October: he started shopping. If there’s an international pitching aisle, Preller already had a cart — because the first move of winter is in, and it’s aimed squarely at the pipeline.
This isn’t a banner-flapping blockbuster, and that’s the point. The Padres need a winter of volume and value, of building lanes beneath the big-league roster rather than chasing splash for splash’s sake.