San Diego Padres GM AJ Preller is no stranger to chaos, but even by his standards, the 2025 trade deadline was next level. Depending on who you ask, the flurry of moves was either “lunacy” or “genius,” a split that feels right in line with Preller’s career-long balancing act between boldness and recklessness. At the heart of the Padres’ deadline shakeup was the acquisition of star closer Mason Miller from the Oaklamento A’s. To get him, Preller dealt away Leo De Vries, the top prospect in a farm system that was already one of the thinnest in baseball.