The rumblings were inevitable.

With Padres General Manager A.J. Preller having demonstrated over the summer and through the fall that he wasn’t buying someone’s silver for his gold, the question was being asked around the winter meetings when – even if – the Padres would divest themselves of some of their plethora of excellent minor league prospects in order to acquire major league players.

There was innuendo among those familiar with some of their talks with other clubs that while the Padres are inquiring on almost every player available (and a number that aren’t available), they were foregoing opportunity by declining to part with prospects.

The Padres are seen around baseball as a nascent power brimming with potential. That perception coupled with their diligence – putting themselves into so many conversations – is likely what has prompted industry speculation about when they will make significant moves.


While reports from a few national media members suggesting the Padres are among the most active teams this week would seemingly be good press for the team, members of the organization fairly scoffed at the notion.

Preller, too, seemed dubious.

“Not to judge activity levels, you have no idea what other teams are talking about,” he said. “There are certain reports there are some accuracy to, and there are some reports we wonder where that comes from. Some of the stuff this time of year, don’t take it to the bank.”

Preller knew talk about his perceived plodding was just a matter of time.


“I think we’re willing to talk about anybody,” he said when asked about the Padres’ readiness to move prospects. “We’ve said that in every scenario. You have to be willing to listen and hear what’s out there. In general, we like a lot of our players. … There’s other teams that like a lot of our players.

“I think we’ve all understood that at the right point in time you’re going to look to free agency or trade to supplement what’s out there and look to move potential younger players for more established players. But it’s got to be the right deal, something that fits for us, because we feel like we have a lot of guys that we feel like in the next few years are going to come up here and contribute.”

Therein lies the quandary in the Padres’ situation.

The Padres feel their roster holds promising players but not enough championship pieces to justify making a push for top trade targets or free agents just yet.


The kernel of truth in the external wonderment over what they are doing is that there is a belief in the organization that they don’t yet have a solid feel on some of their prospects’ ceilings. They certainly do not want to trade the wrong guy. In that respect, this could be among the most important junctures in their building process.

“You have to do it right,” one source said.

So they won’t force it.

“We just haven’t gotten to the point where we feel like it’s a deal that crosses the line in terms of a value standpoint and how it sets us up now and in the future,” Preller explained of why the Padres haven’t consummated anything here. “… If there’s something that lines up that helps us in a different area that we don’t quite have answers for over the course of the next few years and it’s something that gives us a real plus and starts moving us up in the standings, I think we’ll move to act on it.”


While the Padres for some time envisioned this offseason would be rife with activity, there is a feeling inside the organization that the offers they have received so far are reinforcing the idea that mostly standing pat for 2019 is the way to go.

In the signing of Garrett Richards and pursuit of the Yankees’ Sonny Gray (and other similar starters) can be seen an apt metaphor of the Padres’ plans for the next two seasons.

They expect to be good (contenders) in 2020 and believe strongly enough that Richards could be the ace of that staff that they are paying him $7 million to rehab from Tommy John in ’19 before guaranteeing him $8.5 million in ’20. They are doing so with the hope the pitcher who has battled arm issues since 2016 can return to the form that saw him post a 3.18 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 376 innings from 2014 to ’15.

Meanwhile, the thinking is Gray would be a good fit for ‘19, as the Padres expect to be better than they were in ’18, but still with too much development remaining and too many holes to contend. The 29-year-old Gray, who struggled with the Yankees last season but had a record of success over the previous five seasons, is projected to make $9.1 million this season, according to mlbtraderumors.com.


The Padres project their opening-day payroll will be around $100 million. With the 25-man roster (plus Richards) currently projected at around $81.5 million, that leaves room for a starter on Gray’s level and perhaps the signings of a couple of infielders.

Of course, with numerous trade possibilities pending, how that math squares is subject to change.

Likewise, the Padres’ inclination to trade a prospect or three is malleable.

The team exhaustively ranks and re-ranks its major and minor leaguers internally. The players they believe can be part of a future championship will be more difficult for other teams to obtain.


That will manifest not only in the quality of player the Padres would seek in return but the quantity of years that player is under team control before reaching free agency.

“If we’re talking about dealing guys that we feel like have high ceiling and guys that are part of the plan, I think you’re definitely looking for the guy that has more years of control, that factors as not just a short-term fit. … But honestly, we’ve talked about all different scenarios.”

Anything is possible, because the Padres have the prospects to make almost anything happen, should they choose.

“I think definitely part of it is young players are gold in the current system, and we’ve got a system with some quality and quantity,” Preller said of the talk surrounding his organization. “It gives us options.”


kevin.acee@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

6:25 p.m.: This story was updated with Preller quotes and further reporting.