MLB Suspends A.J. Preller For 30 Days

Major League Baseball said Thursday it has suspended Padres general manager A.J. Preller for 30 days without pay following an investigation into the July 14 trade that sent Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox in exchange for righthander Anderson Espinoza.

Per the release, MLB’s Department of Investigations conducted a review of the trade, including “interviews with relevant indivudals from both clubs” and the findings were submitted to commissioner Rob Manfred.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier in the day that MLB was investigating the Padres for maintaining two different copies of medical reports on players, one for internal use and one to give other teams for trades.

According to Olney, another MLB team complained to the commissioner’s office after a trade regarding the medical information disclosed by the Padres.

The Padres made trades with the White Sox, Marlins, Blue Jays and Braves this season in addition to the Red Sox.

The release from MLB makes no mention of the other trades, only that this punishment was solely related to its findings from the Padres’ trade of Pomeranz.

However, the Marlins were reportedly unhappy with the trade they consummated involving Colin Rea and righthander Luis Castillo. Rea pitched 3.1 innings in his Marlins debut before leaving with an elbow injury. The Marlins reportedly believed Rea was damaged goods when they acquired him, and returned him to San Diego, getting back Castillo—one of their top prospects.

Preller was also suspended by Major League Baseball while he was running the Rangers’ international operations. The club was also disciplined. Neither MLB nor the Rangers or any team officials have commented on the specifics of the allegations or the punishment.

The Padres acknowledged that Preller had been suspended while with the Rangers, and that the Padres had discussed the matter with MLB. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Preller received an initial three-month suspension that was reduced to one month after the Rangers appealed.

The commissioner’s office never announced the suspension publicly and has declined comment, other than to say it did discuss the situation with the Padres.

In 2014, shortly after Preller was hired, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels downplayed the charges against Preller, saying the disciplinary action stemmed from an incident several years ago.

“The crux of it was we were accused of talking to an agent, a buscon, about signing a player that was serving an age/identity suspension,” Daniels said. “We never agreed to anything, we never signed anything, but when (the player is) on suspension you’re not allowed to sign a player. We were accused of engaging in negotiations with the buscon about a suspended player during the period he was suspended. It was investigated, there was some discipline to the club involved. I’m surprised it’s as big a deal as it’s being made now.”