This is the rare moment when the obvious answer is also the right one. The Padres don’t need to tear out the wiring; they need to stop flipping breakers. Retaining A.J. Preller and Mike Shildt isn’t a punt on accountability — it’s an investment in the one competitive advantage San Diego has struggled to build for decades: continuity with a plan.
The franchise finally has a front office and dugout that understand each other’s tempos and a roster core that’s lived in high-leverage baseball for multiple seasons. Swapping leadership now would be change for the sake of optics, the kind of sugar rush that wastes a year while everyone relearns each other’s language.