There is no question that A.J. Preller stays busy the entire offseason trying to improve the San Diego Padres’ roster. The team’s president of baseball operations has the reputation of being one of the most aggressive front-office executives in all of MLB.

Even so, there haven’t been a ton of moves by Preller this offseason.

Sure, right-handed starter Michael King came back, he signed infielder Sung Mun Song from South Korea, and then added another bench bat in Miguel Andujar. Other than that, there haven’t been any headline-grabbing moves.

So, as the Friars are in the early days of spring training officially beginning, even with some players being in Peoria, Arizona, for weeks already, Preller met the media and gave some thoughts on where the roster stands just a week before Cactus League games begin.

Padres Roster Status

As most fans know, Preller understands the roster feels incomplete. That begins with the starting rotation. The rotation is pretty good at the top with Nick Pivetta, King, and Joe Musgrove. Randy Vasquez is the No. 4, but the last rotation spot is open with a handful of candidates vying to be on the Opening Day roster, but even those options come with questions.

“Looking to add to the starting rotation,” Preller said. “We’ve got some good competition, but I think always looking to fill out innings.”

Preller also said he was open to adding another bench bat to complement what is already on the roster.

But overall, Preller said much of the work that would typically be done in the offseason was accomplished at the trade deadline. That included the addition of pitchers Mason Miller and JP Sears, as well as left fielder Ramon Laureano.

“I do think some of the work done at the trade deadline last year was designed towards players that are filling holes (now),” Preller said. “Guys (like) Laureano and (catcher Freddy) Fermin and Miller and Sears … I think (this offseason has) been targeted to the starting rotation, towards another bat or two, with Andujar.

“Similar to past years, I think we have a team that’s competitive. It’s got a real chance to look up and go play in a World Series, go play in October, but we also understand that we have a little bit of work to do to kind of round the team out.”

Padres Catching Situation

There has been a lot of chatter about how the Padres will handle their catchers. Fermin, acquired from the Kansas City Royals at the deadline for two young starting pitchers, enters camp as the No. 1 catcher, with Luis Campusano as the backup.

After playing in 91 games in 2024 as the backup to Kyle Higashioka, Campusano only played in 10 MLB games in 2025, instead being relegated to Triple-A El Paso. Known for his offense, Campusano was likely sent down to hone his defense.

At El Paso, Campusano had a .336/.441/.595 slash line with 25 homers and 95 RBIs. It was telling that the Padres needed offense from the position they kept Campusano at in Triple-A and acquired Fermin. That makes 2026 a big year for Campusano.

“Not an easy situation for him,” Preller said. “He feels like he is a big-league player, and he went down to Triple-A. But he handled himself very well in that setting. He could have sat there and complained, or kind of felt sorry for himself. He went down there and just tried to get better. He had a great year, and I think it’s going to help him out here a lot this year. For us, it’s as good a catching tandem as you can have. Between the two of them, they have good skill sets. There are skills that complement each other. Campy’s a super-hard worker.”

Preller virtually dismissed the potential of carrying three catchers, which would have given Campusano more chances to pinch-hit, be the designated hitter, or even play a little first base, saying, “It’s not a zero, but we had more opportunity to do that in the offseason.”

At least as of now, Preller is banking on Campusano to be a productive number two catcher.

“When we look at our team this year, that can be an area of improvement for us, having those guys from the start,” Preller said. “Expecting him to take what he did at Triple-A last year and in stretches in the big leagues and turn that into consistent performance for us, and that would be a big addition for us.”

Preller’s Contract Status

Did Preller hint that a resolution to his contract situation is about to be resolved? He is in the last year of his deal and said that he has been continuing to have talks with owner John Seidler about an extension. Preller played pretty coy about the whole situation, but also may have tipped his hand.

“When the time’s right, the moment’s right, open the line up on something,” Preller said, later adding, “… but we’ll see where it goes in the next couple days.”

He said no deadline, like Opening Day, has been discussed for a new deal and that “(I) love San Diego.” He also said that the team’s sale doesn’t appear to be affecting negotiations.

“We still have some unfinished business,” Preller said.

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