So much for the creative wheeler-dealer reputation A.J. Preller has built up.

While Preller, the team’s president of baseball operations, has acknowledged that he made preemptive moves at the 2025 trade deadline to fill anticipated holes on the 2026 roster, the Friars entered spring training in Peoria, Ariz., with a handful of areas still needing to be bolstered. (Cough, starting pitching, cough.)

But that conversation is for another day. What it is time to do now is go over the moves Preller made before pitchers and catchers reported to camp. And these are only involving the MLB roster, not minor-league contracts with spring training invites, such as the deal given to left-hander Marco Gonzales, a candidate for the rotation.

As a telling example, the Padres did not execute a trade, not even a minor one. Also, the fact that there are only five signings here could be a sign that Preller’s hands have been tied due to the Friars’ financial situation and the fact that they are currently up for sale. This also does not include the three deals made after pitchers and catchers reported to bring on first baseman-outfielder Nick Castellanos and right-handed starters Griffin Canning and German Marquez, nor does it include mention of the minor-league pacts Walker Buehler and Ty France inked.

Grading Every Major Padres Move This Offseason

Free-Agent Signing: RHP Michael King to 3-year, $75 million contract

It took until mid-December for the Padres to make their first real move — and it involved a familiar face. After declining the $22.025 million qualifying offer, King returned to the place he spent the last two seasons as a key member of the starting rotation. The right-hander coming back was huge as the Padres were not only facing his loss, but the loss of right-handed starter Dylan Cease, another free agent who joined the Toronto Blue Jays.

King had a combined 3.65 FIP (3.10 ERA) and an ERA+ of 134 (100 is an MLB-average pitcher) over those two seasons after being acquired in the Juan Soto trade. One of the reasons why King may have chosen to come back was he only made starts last year, first due to a nerve issue in his right shoulder, then inflammation in his left knee.

He will likely slot in behind right-hander Nick Pivetta and ahead of right-hander Joe Musgrove in a strong top three in the rotation. The contract was a definite win for King, who gets paid $17 million in 2026, $28 million in 2027 and $30 million in 2028. King does have opt-outs after each of the first two years should he perform well enough to hit the free-agent market again, but also protecting himself if he gets hurt.

The Padres are facing an even bigger rotation crisis next year if King and Pivetta opt out.

Grade: A-

Free-Agent Signing: INF Sung Mun Song to 4-year, $15 million contract

Song is the most intriguing move of the offseason and could turn out to be a huge bargain. Coming over from the Korean Baseball Organization, Song has traditionally been a third baseman who has also spent time at second base and first base.

But third base is superstar Manny Machado‘s position, so Song will see a majority of his time at the keystone, while filling in at third and occasionally at first. This spring, Song will learn to play the outfield, a place he never played in the KBO.

He made himself an attractive candidate for MLB teams with his performance over the last two seasons. The 29-year-old had his best season in 2024, posting a .340/.409/.518 slash line with 19 homers and 104 RBIs. He also stole 46 steals in 48 attempts in that time. That brought his career line up to .283/.347/.431.

The real value comes in the contract. If Song is just an average utility player, $2.8 million in 2026, $3.3 million in 2027 and $3.8 million in 2028 is really cheap by MLB standards. He has an opt-out after 2028, with $3.8 million scheduled for 2029.

If there is a question, it is whether Song’s last two seasons were the real deal, or whether he’s actually something closer to what he did in his first seven seasons in the KBO. If he hits and defends well enough to become a starter at second base, this move will be a home run.

Grade: B+

Free-Agent Signing: INF/OF Miguel Andujar to 1-year, $4 million contract

Needing a right-handed bench bat, Andujar was a good addition for that price. Technically, Andujar makes $1.5 million in 2026 with a $2.5 million buyout for a mutual option for 2027. He split time pretty evenly at third base and left field last year, while seeing action in three games at first base between the A’s and the Cincinnati Reds following a trade. He also played 28 of his 94 games at designated hitter.

Andujar hits left-handed pitchers very well, with a .297/.332/.475 career slash line, compared with .275/.307/.427 vs. right-handers. Andujar is long past his peak power-hitting days, when he smacked 27 homers in 2018 for the New York Yankees en route to finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to some guy named Shohei Ohtani. That is thanks to a number of injuries zapping his power. He did hit 10 homers in those 94 games last year, a season in which he had the most games, plate appearances and homers since that rookie campaign.

He should be in the mix for at-bats at first base and left field, with some third base a possibility. He could also be a DH, particularly against southpaws given the number of lefty bats the Friars have. As long as he can stay healthy, this is a nice move to solidify the bench.

Grade: B

Free-Agent Signing: RHP Ty Adcock to 1-year, $850,000 contract

Considering the MLB minimum salary in 2026 is $780,000, the 29-year-old is a low-risk addition and a safety net in case injuries decimate the bullpen. The right-handed reliever has 18 games of MLB experience, 12 coming in in 2023 with the Seattle Mariners and three in each of 2024 and 2025 with the New York Mets.

In that brief MLB time, Adcock has a 7.18 FIP and a 5.48 ERA, which indicates he could have had a little luck on his side. He had a 14.3% walk rate and 35.7% strikeout rate, suggestive of someone with elite stuff who has yet to learn how to harness it. In four years in the minors, he has a career 4.40 ERA, including a 4.66 mark in 2025 at Triple-A.

Grade: C

Free-Agent Signing: RHP Daison Acosta to 1-year, $780,000 contract

Similar to Adcock from a financial commitment perspective, Acosta has yet to make his MLB debut and has just 23 games at Triple-A over the last two seasons. The 27-year-old has spent eight of the last 10 years in the minors, with the 2020 minor-league season being wiped out by the pandemic and a lost 2021 campaign due to injury.

Acosta allows 4.6 walks per nine innings and strikes out 10.1 batters in that same sample. The Friars had to see something in Acosta to give him a major-league contract and a spot on the 40-man roster, but he will be ticketed for Triple-A El Paso as bullpen insurance.

Grade: C-

Verdict

If you were trying to come up with a book title for what Preller was able to do this offseason, it would be “Unfinished Business.” Thus, what he accomplished between the final out of the NL Wild Card Series loss to the Chicago Cubs to the day pitchers and catchers reported is underwhelming.

No starting pitchers and no starting position players were added. Even the bench feels like it needs another body. That isn’t to say the moves that were made were bad ones. None is bad on face value.

But as the leader of the front office of a contending team playing in a stadium that is filled to the brim by passionate fans on a nightly basis, Preller’s job is to give the team every chance to win the NL West and contend for a World Series. He fell short of that goal this winter.

Final grade: F

Note: The three additions made over the weekend in Castellanos, Griffin and Marquez (plus France and Buehler) were smart and necessary signings. Since they came after pitchers and catchers reported to camp, they don’t get factored into our grade here, but each of those fives players could have a significant impact on the team in 2026. If you believe that’s the case, you can adjust the grade accordingly.

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