The Padres have set their course for 2024, opting to keep the brain trust they had in place despite what has universally been regarded as a disappointing season.
A.J. Preller will remain as general manager and president of baseball operations while Bob Melvin will be in charge in the dugout.
Padres chairman Peter Seidler issued a statement this week noting the team’s subpar performance this season, but still offered his “full support” to team leaders.
“We entered 2023 with expectations that we would build on last year’s NLCS appearance and contend for a World Series Championship. We fell short of that goal. The Padres organization will learn from this season and emerge in 2024 with the pieces in place to compete for San Diego’s first World Series title. Our current leadership team continues to have my full support, and I have asked them to perform a thorough assessment of our organization, beginning today. We will make the changes necessary to play championship-caliber baseball for our extraordinary fans in 2024.”
The team announced Preller’s and Melvin’s returns on Wednesday, two days after releasing Seidler’s statement.
The Padres finished third in the National League West, 18 games behind the division-winning Dodgers. The team had hoped to contend, but proved maddeningly inconsistent and only a scorching September lifted them to finish above .500.
While some speculation about the team’s fate focused on clubhouse leadership, other questions centered on Preller, particularly his leadership style and relationship with Melvin.
Melvin has a year remaining on his contract.
“Both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year,” Preller told MLB.com, avoiding the subject of negotiations to extend the deal.
Melvin, speaking to the Associated Press Thursday, also declined to comment on any possible talks. He said his relationship with Preller “is fine and we’re moving forward.” He also said that in 2024 he is “looking forward to having a much better year than we had this year.”
