They call it “The Room” — and for San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller, it can be anywhere a group of decision-makers gathers to talk baseball: his office, a spring-training conference room, a hotel suite. The Room is the nucleus of the Padres’ front office, where scouts, analytics staff, medical personnel and executives meet for exhaustive, often late-night discussions that shape big roster moves.
Preller’s group — described by multiple current and former employees as unusually persistent about watching and talking baseball — uses that preparation to execute rapid, coordinated moves at the trade deadline. On July 31, The Room was the auditorium on Petco Park’s fourth floor and nearly 30 people packed in, seated in a U-shape around whiteboards as assistant GM Josh Stein sketched deals on a felt-tip marker. By midmorning the Padres stunned the league with a first domino trade: closer Mason Miller to San Diego for the team’s No. 1 prospect, shortstop Leo De Vries, and three minor-leaguers — a move that was the public starting point for a five-trade day.
Those five trades ultimately brought six major-league players and two minor-leaguers to San Diego: closer Mason Miller and starter JP Sears from Oakland; outfielder Ramón Laureano and 1B/DH Ryan O’Hearn from Baltimore; catcher Freddy Fermín from Kansas City; and starter Nestor Cortes (plus minor-leaguer Jorge Quintana) from Milwaukee. The Padres also traded for Triple-A infielder Will Wagner from Toronto. The club received cash from the Brewers and Orioles to offset veteran salaries. The net cost: 14 players, including six of Baseball America’s top-16 Padres prospects, two starting pitchers who combined for 21 major-league starts this season, a Triple-A outfielder and several other minor leaguers.
Preller emphasized the trades were not standalone gambits but pieces of a coordinated plan. The decision to acquire Miller, for example, was contingent on lining up offensive help and a catcher — otherwise trading the organization’s top prospect would not have made sense. “We weren’t going to move Leo unless we felt like we could line up other pieces and make this team pretty solid and strong at all levels on the big-league side,” Preller said. The deadline moves were intended to “round out the team” and address perceived weak links heading into 2025.
That approach follows a pattern. Preller’s front office has been among baseball’s busiest at the deadline: six trades in 2020 (including Mike Clevinger), the high-profile 2022 acquisitions of Juan Soto and Josh Hader, and 25 total deadline deals since 2020 — more than any other club in that span. The Padres’ recent deadlines have been characterized by advance planning: entering the season with an idea of which holes will need to be filled and aiming to be competitive early so the deadline acquisitions are realistic and affordable for the remainder of the season.
Preller acknowledges that trading prospects pains him but frames it as part of sustainable roster construction: you can trade premium prospects, win now, and replenish the system through scouting, development and subsequent drafts. “You can make trades and have good players go elsewhere and your guys come here and play well. You can have sustainability,” he said. Preller noted that other teams have learned to trust the Padres’ process; he believes trading high-quality prospects often returns immediate major-league talent that fits the club’s needs.
The clubhouse-level goal was clear: build a team that checks as many boxes as possible — defense, offense, base running and bullpen depth — to erase obvious weaknesses and maximize the chance of playoff success. That was the impetus behind acquiring veteran bats like Laureano and O’Hearn (the latter acquired for a modest salary for the rest of the season) and trading a top prospect for an elite reliever. Preller framed it as learning from past playoff shortcomings and trying to remove “weak links” that could shorten a postseason run.
Even after the deadline frenzy, The Room kept working. Within hours the group was re-ranking the organization’s top 30 prospects, looking ahead to future drafts and player development. Preller stressed the need to continue replenishing the system: while the upper tiers of the minor-league pool have been depleted, he said there are still pieces the organization likes and hopes this year’s draft and development will restore depth.
Additional comments and analysis
– Process over surprise: The Padres’ deadline strategy is less about opportunistic single trades and more about multi-deal choreography. Executing one marquee acquisition often required aligning complementary moves to shore up lineup balance (catcher, bats) and payroll.
– Risk-and-reward: Trading multiple top prospects for immediate major-league help is a high-risk, high-reward path. It can accelerate a team’s contention window but depends on player performance and the organization’s continued ability to scout and develop talent.
– Payroll management: The inclusion of cash from other clubs and short-term veteran deals (like O’Hearn) shows attention to both immediate roster needs and financial flexibility.
– Sustainability hinges on scouting and development: Preller repeatedly highlighted scouting and a disciplined process as the foundation for making these trades sustainable rather than depleting the franchise long-term.
Short summary
A.J. Preller’s “Room” — a cross-disciplinary group of scouts, analytics and staff — planned and executed a five-trade deadline day that brought Mason Miller, JP Sears, Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Freddy Fermín, Nestor Cortes and two minor-leaguers to San Diego in exchange for 14 players, including top prospects. The moves were designed to shore up apparent roster weaknesses and position the Padres as stronger contenders in 2025, while relying on ongoing scouting and development to replenish the farm system.
Hopeful spin
The Padres’ deadline activity illustrates a clear, conviction-driven strategy: identify weaknesses early, build consensus across scouting and analytics, and make bold moves when the club is positioned to contend. That discipline — paired with a commitment to rebuilding the farm through scouting and the draft — offers a plausible path for sustained competitiveness rather than a one-off push. If the new acquisitions perform as hoped and the development pipeline holds, San Diego could be better-rounded and deeper for the next postseason run.