As the San Diego Padres<\/a> play out the string in one of the most disappointing campaigns in major-league history, a club that spectacularly collapsed two years ago<\/a> must again confront the shakiness of its foundation.<\/p>\n Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller continues to prove himself to be a gifted evaluator and collector of high-end talent. His default setting of simply trying to outwork the competition, however, has not always sat well with managers, players, coaches and other team officials.<\/p>\n Many who have worked for Preller praise him for his work ethic and eye for talent. Many also criticize him for poor communication and a lack of feel. As one former high-ranking official said, the Padres\u2019 guiding philosophy under Preller \u2014 if there is one \u2014 might boil down to this: \u201cDo more than everybody else at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n Interviews over the past several weeks with more than two dozen current and former Padres employees and others in baseball, almost all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity in exchange for their candor, revealed deep cultural issues that start near the top of the organization and, in some cases, filter down to the players.<\/p>\n One player called the season an \u201cinstitutional failure.\u201d Multiple members of the team spoke of a persistent atmosphere of pessimism as the Padres<\/a> watched their season slip away. And while numerous people downplayed or rejected rumors of a dysfunctional clubhouse, the overall environment around the team garnered less positive reviews.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the most toxic,\u201d one former staffer said.<\/p>\n A repeated inability to live up to expectations only exacerbated divisions within the franchise. The Padres opened this season with a $249 million payroll \u2014 a franchise record and the third-highest in the majors \u2014 coming off a run to San Diego\u2019s first appearance in the National League Championship Series since 1998.<\/p>\n But almost from the beginning, the season unfolded like a nightmare. A team that set out to win its first World Series title has not been .500 or better since May 11. The Padres have not been within 10 games of the NL West lead since Aug. 5.<\/p>\n An official elimination from playoff contention appears inevitable. Less clear is how the Padres intend to address a host of looming questions. What will happen with manager Bob Melvin, whose relationship with Preller one player described as \u201cunfixable\u201d? Do the Padres, carrying a trio of mega-contracts, possess the leadership inside their clubhouse to sustain a successful culture? Can a mid-market franchise such as San Diego absorb a season as disastrous and expensive as this one?<\/p>\n The biggest question, perhaps, is how much longer the Padres stick with Preller, a favorite of owner Peter Seidler\u2019s. If Melvin departs, and if Preller is permitted to hire another manager, it would be the GM\u2019s sixth in 10 full seasons, including Pat Murphy, the interim who replaced Bud Black in June 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always take responsibility,\u201d Preller said. \u201cYou\u2019re leading the group. It\u2019s a results-based industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Seidler provides greater financial flexibility than some large-market owners give their top baseball executives, yet the Padres have had only one winning record in a full season under Preller. The Padres\u2019 last three opening-day payrolls ranked in baseball\u2019s top 10, and the last two in the top five. Since 2015, Preller has spent close to $200 million between amateur draft picks and international signings, yet all of that capital produced only three All-Stars (infielder Ty France<\/a> and relievers Emmanuel Clase<\/a> and David Bednar<\/a>), each of whom blossomed after being traded away.<\/p>\n Many other prospects were moved for star-caliber performers such as Blake Snell<\/a>, Yu Darvish<\/a>, Joe Musgrove<\/a> and Juan Soto<\/a>. While the arrivals of those players helped fuel the 2022 postseason run, they also compromised upper-level organizational depth.<\/p>\n The Padres, through Sunday, have the second-best rotation ERA in the National League, but they have suffered from a near-historic combination of bad luck and poor clutch hitting. Their 6-22 record in one-run games and 0-11 mark in extra-inning games both are the worst in the majors. Yet the Padres\u2019 talent is such that some believe the team should simply try again with a similar roster.<\/p>\n \u201cI really do think the same group could come back next year and be the complete opposite, win 100 games,\u201d one player said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to see the absolute disaster scenario of this group of players,\u201d a rival executive added.<\/p>\n Still, how much would really change without a shakeup at the top? Can the Padres achieve buy-in throughout the organization as long as Preller remains in charge?<\/p>\n \u201cYou can argue he\u2019s one of the best talent evaluators ever in the game,\u201d a former Padres player said. \u201cBut just because you can evaluate talent doesn\u2019t mean you know how to handle people.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon after the 2017 season ended, Preller made an unusual hire. Don Tricker, the Padres\u2019 new director of player health and performance, had come to San Diego from the other side of the world.<\/p>\n Tricker had spent the previous several years as high performance manager for New Zealand\u2019s famed All Blacks, the most successful rugby team of all time. For the Padres, he was at first expected to oversee multiple departments, including the medical and training staff and the analytics department.<\/p>\n His intended role, in a sense, was even broader. The Padres were in the midst of a rebuild, and Preller sought the unique perspective of a man who also had played and coached for the New Zealand men\u2019s national softball team and worked in the information technology industry.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was brought in to change the culture,\u201d one former Padres coach said.<\/p>\n To many, though, Tricker became an unsettling presence. He did not possess a medical background, and he was quickly shifted away from analytics oversight because he arrived with a rudimentary knowledge of baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cHe may not be the content expert in those areas. That\u2019s why we have \u2026 our strength coaches and we have our athletic trainers. That\u2019s their job,\u201d Preller said. \u201cHis job is to make sure that they\u2019re asking the right questions, they\u2019re in communication with each other, they\u2019re on the same page big picture-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, almost six years after his hiring, <\/span>many current and former Padres players, coaches and other employees <\/span>continue to express consternation about Tricker\u2019s responsibilities. <\/span>Tricker, especially early on, frequented the clubhouse and sat in on player and staff meetings, quietly taking notes. Some believe he is effectively a spy for the front office. (The Padres do not allow front office employees to speak to the media without permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what Don does, honestly,\u201d one former front office staffer said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll he was doing was judging,\u201d the ex-coach said. \u201cHe never provided any feedback to any coach or player.\u201d<\/p>\n Not everyone had a poor experience with Tricker. One former staffer said Tricker, as an outsider to the sport, regularly posed thought-provoking questions \u2014 why, for example, did the Padres take batting practice that did not replicate the intensity of in-game pitching?<\/p>\n According to multiple members of the baseball operations department, Tricker originally said he hoped to get employees more time off to spend with their families. However, those employees said such assurances gradually disappeared while Tricker\u2019s boss exerted his influence throughout the organization.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, I think it all sounds appealing to A.J., and if you don\u2019t get a win, he goes back to the way he\u2019s naturally wired,\u201d one former staffer said. \u201cHe\u2019s wired to outwork everybody on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n That mentality has taken a noticeable toll. Since 2015, Preller\u2019s first full season as general manager, 29 coaches and managers have departed his major-league staff, an abnormal amount of churn in an industry known for turnover. Meanwhile, Tricker and a number of other high-paid executives have remained, creating more distance between the front office and those in uniform, who sometimes view Preller\u2019s constant push for additional pregame work as counter-productive.<\/p>\n Several people interviewed for this story described a lack of a coherent message from the top of the organization. \u201cThere\u2019s no consistency,\u201d a former employee said. Another former Padres staffer added, \u201cI think the philosophy is, get a bunch of athletes and we\u2019re just going to out-athlete the other team and out-ability the other team.\u201d<\/p>\n Others refer to an absence of conventional hierarchy under Preller, 46, who has a reputation as a micromanager. \u201cA.J. likes to be in charge of everything,\u201d one player said, citing Preller\u2019s occasional efforts to move away from traditional batting practice and toward more training against pitching machines. Preller, one former Padres official said, \u201cwants to have a finger on the pulse of his team. He wants to believe in a velo machine before the game if you\u2019re facing a guy throwing 100 mph. He wants to do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Preller\u2019s hands-on approach elicits both irritation and admiration. \u201cI think A.J.\u2019s got just a brilliant mind,\u201d an ex-staffer said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s always on. It\u2019s always like, how can I incrementally make this roster better?\u201d Another former team official noted that many of Preller\u2019s suggestions to the coaching staff \u2014 say, that an infielder take extra ground balls to improve his range \u2014 were not without merit. Said one Padres player: \u201cNobody cares about winning and trying to figure this out more than he does. \u2026 He\u2019s obsessed.\u201d<\/p>\n But when the Padres fail to win, people around the club say, the same hands-on approach can foster a negative environment. One former staff member said he had never worked in an organization where players dealt with as much veiled criticism. Some Padres coaches, throughout Preller\u2019s tenure, have said they felt nitpicked by the front office.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to be in a situation where you really want to celebrate with people and win with people who you know, when you\u2019re not doing well, are constantly jumping off the boat,\u201d one former Padres coach said. \u201cThey\u2019re blaming you for the leak in the raft.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think A.J. is not great at recognizing the culture cost of him putting his finger on the thumb of the coaching staff,\u201d a former team executive said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tricker is not the only Preller hire whose presence continues to arouse suspicion among staffers. Earlier this summer, former Miami Marlins<\/a> executive Bill Masse joined the organization as a baseball operations advisor and has become a regular presence during\u00a0batting practice and inside the batting cages at Petco Park \u2014 even though the Padres already had three hitting coaches. Former St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> manager Mike Shildt, now a Padres senior advisor for player development and the major leagues, has been in uniform with the team for most of this season, an unusual situation for an advisor.<\/p>\n Preller, for his part, said he values a variety of perspectives. But such arrangements, some inside the clubhouse say, <\/span>still lead to uncertainty and unease.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some senses here, I feel that the finger gets pointed at the next guy,\u201d one player said. \u201cInstead of, You\u2019re the head of the organization. You need to take the reins of this, implement some sort of structure<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n Added one ex-staffer: \u201cIt\u2019s probably more of a case study in management.\u201d<\/p>\n And nowhere is that more evident than in Preller\u2019s relationship with Melvin.<\/p>\n Melvin, 61 years old and known throughout the game as \u201cBoMel,\u201d was supposed to be the veteran solution, the antithesis of Preller\u2019s previous three managers \u2014 Murphy, Andy Green and Jayce Tingler \u2014 all of whom were first-timers at the major-league level.<\/p>\n This is Melvin\u2019s 20th season as an MLB<\/a> manager. He is a three-time Manager of the Year. Upon joining the Padres in 2022, he guided the team to a wild-card berth and playoff upsets of the New York Mets<\/a> and archrival Dodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s success masked stylistic differences between Preller, a GM who thrusts himself into the team\u2019s day-to-day operation, and Melvin, a manager who is widely respected by his current and former players for his consistency. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts<\/a> called Melvin, \u201ca great manager, a great guy,\u201d adding that his communication \u201chas been exceptional.\u201d Other players echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n Yet, as the Padres crumbled this season, the differences between Preller and Melvin created a major disconnect. The rift between the two became one of the worst-kept secrets in baseball. Melvin declined to comment for this story.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of respect for Bob,\u201d said Preller. \u201cYou know, you\u2019re never going to agree on everything. You never have that with anyone in baseball operations. That\u2019s healthy. I think there\u2019s always a healthy debate.\u201d<\/p>\n Several Padres people interviewed for this story described circumstances in which Preller told players one thing and Melvin told them another. One player, while careful not to absolve himself and his teammates of blame, likened the situation to a toxic relationship between parents in which the kids suffer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf nobody\u2019s on the same page and you\u2019re getting two stories from two different people, there is not trust there,\u201d the player said. \u201cThe players are going to feel like, well, who can I confide in? Who can I talk to?\u201d<\/p>\n Preller, in the view of one former staffer, tries to be almost a friend to players, leaving Melvin and his coaches to deliver tougher messages. A person who previously worked with Preller said, \u201cin Oakland, you had a situation with a GM (Billy Beane) who was at 40,000 feet and let the manager manage. A.J. gets to 40,000 feet, and then he\u2019s down at 10,000 and almost like he\u2019s in the dugout on an ongoing basis. And you can\u2019t be that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Preller\u2019s roster construction also created difficulties for Melvin. The Padres played much of the first half with essentially only one position-player reserve beyond the backup catcher. Melvin didn\u2019t have many levers to pull. Most of the Padres\u2019 regulars play every game, and their lineup was essentially cemented once Fernando Tatis returned on April 20 from his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance.<\/p>\n That workload perhaps contributed to another divide between the front office and Melvin\u2019s coaching staff. Preller has long stressed the importance of pregame and early work on the field and in the batting cages, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s just about having set game plans and purposeful work and intentful work.\u201d This season, especially as the Padres spiraled, was no different. But that emphasis, according to several current and former team members, has been a frequent source of contention in San Diego \u2014\u00a0 <\/b>including before Melvin was hired. With pregame work, especially in the latter stages of a six-month season, less often is more.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes guys run out of gas,\u201d one Padres player said. \u201cI see it. And sometimes the sad part is they (club officials) see it, too. Why don\u2019t you make adjustments?\u201d<\/p>\n The lack of overall depth was perhaps more of an issue in the bullpen, anchored by its own star, closer Josh Hader<\/a>. Setup man Robert Suarez<\/a> missed the first half with elbow inflammation. Nick Martinez<\/a> needed to move from the rotation to the bullpen in April. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz<\/a> has not pitched since 2021 because of multiple injuries.<\/p>\n Still, Melvin has drawn internal criticism for his bullpen management, according to one former official. The Padres rank 12th in the majors in bullpen ERA and 25th in save percentage. Their one-run and extra-inning records are perhaps attributable to poor luck, but a manager\u2019s decision-making also can influence those outcomes. Then again, Melvin\u2019s teams entered 2023 with a 414-380 record in one-run games, a .521 winning percentage. In his first season in San Diego, the Padres led the majors with a 30-17 record in those games.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard. Probably the hardest (season) I\u2019ve had because of the expectations that we had as a team,\u201d Melvin told reporters last weekend in Oakland. \u201cI feel responsible. I feel accountable for what goes on here.\u201d<\/p>\n The larger question, perhaps, is how Preller relates to his managers, and whether he creates a platform for them to be successful. The overwhelming evidence suggests the answer is no.<\/p>\n Preller\u2019s relationships with Green and Tingler also deteriorated late in their respective tenures. Now Melvin might be the next to go.<\/p>\n \u201cA.J. is looking for the guy to push the superstars that he acquired,\u201d one former Padres coach said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know who the right guy is to do that. If it\u2019s not BoMel, then who is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Around baseball, the Padres\u2019 clubhouse is perceived to be a fractured mess, home to big salaries and bigger egos. But team members say the players coexist well.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought the locker room was going to be a complete s\u2014show,\u201d said one player who joined the team this season. \u201cThat is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe get along together pretty good,\u201d Soto said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like people think.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet, even when players are not squabbling, a team can lack offensive chemistry. The Padres, for all their potential at the plate, never saw their lineup click over long stretches. And leadership questions persist, as they often do with losing clubs.<\/p>\n To the suggestion the Padres have no leader, one team member said, \u201cOr there\u2019s four and they can\u2019t figure out which one it\u2019s supposed to be and therefore none of them are doing it, so it\u2019s like, \u2018Who\u2019s the guy here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres\u2019 \u201cBig Four\u201d all are at different stages of their careers. Manny Machado<\/a>, originally signed in 2019, is in the first year of an 11-year, $350 million extension. Bogaerts, a free-agent addition, is in the first year of an 11-year, $280 million deal.<\/p>\n Tatis, in the third year of a 14-year, $340 million contract, is trying to restore his reputation coming off his suspension<\/a>. And Soto, acquired in a trade at the 2022 deadline after he turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals<\/a>, is eligible for free agency after next season.<\/p>\n Soto, 24, is the one performing the best on offense, but his uncertain future with the club has left him \u201cguarded,\u201d according to one teammate, and \u201ctrying to figure out where he\u2019s at,\u201d according to another member of the club. Tatis, 69 days younger than Soto, is in no position to take command, considering his age and the standing he lost with his suspension. Bogaerts, who turns 31 on Oct. 1, cannot be expected to own the room in his first year with a new organization.<\/p>\n Which leaves Machado, the oldest and most established of the group.<\/p>\n Machado, 31, is not a classic leader, some teammates say. He is too temperamental, inconsistent in his behavior \u2014 as opposed to, say, Adri\u00e1n Beltr\u00e9, a player whom Preller knew well from his time with the Texas Rangers<\/a>. Beltr\u00e9 was a guidepost for his teammates, \u201ccleaning up\u201d whatever issues arose in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n Few such players exist in today\u2019s game, and Machado serves as a positive example in his own way. Since 2015, he is second in the majors only to Paul Goldschmidt<\/a> in games played.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally think Manny is an exceptional leader,\u201d one former Padre said. \u201cHe puts in the work every single day and plays through ticky-tack injuries and shows how important it is just to be on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, it\u2019s my responsibility that I didn\u2019t play (to the best of my abilities),\u201d Machado told reporters Monday at Petco Park. \u201cThe real point of this is we didn\u2019t play good baseball, I didn\u2019t play good baseball and we let a lot of people down in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Whatever one\u2019s view of Machado, the Padres surely were aware of his strengths and weaknesses as a leader when they awarded him his extension in February. Machado already had played four years with the club, through good times and bad. As was the case with Melvin, few complained about him in 2022, when the Padres came within three wins of reaching the World Series.<\/p>\n Leadership, some with the Padres say, would be much less of an issue if the Big Four had just performed to their career norms.<\/p>\n Their collective underachievement, however, does not fully explain the Padres\u2019 offensive shortcomings. Some with the club believe that because the Padres are so star-laden, they do not play as a unit offensively, focusing more on individual performance than team-oriented goals. The description by one team member \u2014 \u201call superstars and no role players\u201d \u2014 might be an oversimplification. But numerous statistics demonstrate the team\u2019s lack of offensive chemistry:<\/p>\n
\n Since 2015, Preller\u2019s first full season as GM, 29 coaches and managers have left his major-league staff. (Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe president of baseball operations<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\n As the Padres crumbled this season, the differences between Preller and Melvin created a major disconnect. (Brian Rothmuller \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe manager<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\n Players say the Padres\u2019 clubhouse (including stars Tatis, left, and Manny Machado) is not the mess some outsiders think it is. Still, as an offensive unit, the team never came together. (Orlando Ramirez \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe players<\/b><\/h2>\n
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