In a world without live sports, the NFL Draft became must-see TV in April. Padres General Manager A.J. Preller certainly tuned in, then huddled with a handful of his NFL counterparts to chat about scouting from afar during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the fishbowl he’s about to be dropped into this week.
“Yeah,” Preller said dryly with a smile, “I can’t wait for that part of the draft.”
The internet at his own home is sketchy so Preller — who prefers to work behind the scenes anyway — will serve as the point person in the most unique draft in baseball history from a “war room” at Petco Park, complete with various forms of communication branching out to personnel and area scouts stationed in different corners of the ballpark as well as home offices scattered around the country.