Front Row Seat: A.J. Preller says Fernando Tatis Jr. is untouchable

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering either subscribing to support our work for as little as $5/month or dropping a tip in the jar.

Section 1904

We want to hear from you!

Section 1904 is making plans for 2026 but we don’t want to make any decisions without first hearing from our subscribers. Fill out our survey and email us with your thoughts!

Section 1904John Gennaro

A San Diego Padres exodus?

Yet another member of the San Diego Padres baseball operations is leaving the organization. This time, it’s 2025 West Coast Scout of the Year, Logan White.

Section 1904Darren Smith

San Diego Padres

A.J. Preller says Fernando Tatis Jr. is untouchable, even with Padres’ aims unclear - The Athletic
Before Wednesday, Preller might have never so openly attached that term to any player. It had been a little more than three years since the Padres, according to team and league sources, seriously considered the idea of trading Jackson Merrill or James Wood as part of a blockbuster package to acquire Shohei Ohtani. That same month, after Ohtani was yanked off the market, Preller surrendered Wood, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and more to land Juan Soto. For San Diego, before Soto himself was eventually traded away, those were the headiest of times.

The Padres now find themselves in a much different position: their team up for sale, their collection of nine-figure contracts more boulder than runway, their still eminently marketable $340 million right fielder the subject of rampant speculation.

Preller dispels Tatis trade rumors: 'We need Fernando' - MLB.com
“I’ve seen the reports on Tatis and things like that,” Preller said. “Tatis is one of the best players in baseball. We believe he’s one of the top guys in baseball, a two-time Platinum [Glove] winner. He’s a guy that’s taken over portions of seasons and games and playoff series. For us to get to where we want to get to, we need Fernando.”

Anything can still happen after quiet winter meetings for Padres, except … - San Diego Union-Tribune
Speaking around noon in the suite that served as the Padres’ operations hub this week, Preller characterized discussions at baseball’s winter meetings as more informative than intense.

“Got a lot more information from teams and got a little better sense of what’s out there for the market,” Preller said. “Obviously, some players are signing, so that kind of starts to make that more clear about what’s becoming available on the trade market and the free agent market. So yeah, it’s been a productive couple days even though we haven’t landed on anything yet.

“I think there’s definitely some things that are getting more clear both on the trade front and on the free agent pursuits. I think we’re starting to get a better sense of some things that we may be able to do. But these things are fluid and can change hour to hour.”

Notebook: Logan White calls it a career; Albert Pujols on Padres; Rule 5 inactivity - San Diego Union-Tribune
White, who recently turned 64, said he still loved the job and remains healthy and sharp. The move to step away, he said, was largely because he wants to spend as much time as possible with his younger sister, Lynette, who has esophageal cancer.

“It’s serious,” White said. “They’ve given her a year.”

White, who served the past 11 years as one of Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s chief lieutenants, told Preller of his decision at the start of the winter meetings. White made it public while accepting an award as one of MLB’s Scouts of the Year on Tuesday night.

Mexico City Series returns in '26, to feature Padres and D-backs - MLB.com
Major League Baseball’s Mexico City Series will return in 2026, featuring two games between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26. The contests at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Béisbol, which will be the latest installment of MLB’s WORLD TOUR, will be D-backs home games and will mark the third regular season visit by MLB to Mexico’s capital city following the 2023 series between the Padres and San Francisco Giants, and the 2024 set between the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies.