Yesterday Padres general manager A.J. Preller was suspended for 30 days without pay for his role in the Padres hiding players’ medical information from trade partners. At the time, Preller’s suspension was the only discipline mentioned by Major League Baseball. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports today, however, that in addition to the suspension, the Padres were fined an undisclosed amount.
It probably wasn’t a lot. At least not enough to cause a baseball club to feel a pinch. And Preller’s suspension will likely not cause a lot of grief for the club, at least immediately. The Padres season is almost over and no personnel moves of consequence can be made until after the postseason is over, by which time Preller will be back.
The real penalty here will be the trades Preller is unable to make because opposing general managers don’t trust him. Which seems like a huge deal. And which makes the Padres’ decision to not further discipline or terminate Preller curious indeed.