SAN DIEGO — A.J. Preller’s perfect record of avoiding arbitration hearings remains intact.
The Padres agreed to contracts with all six of their arbitration-eligible players ahead of Thursday’s deadline to exchange figures, the team announced.
Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, Gavin Sheets, JP Sears, Mason Miller and Freddy Fermin are all now under contract for the 2026 season. (Luis Campusano, who was also arbitration-eligible this winter, came to an agreement with the club on a 2026 contract in November.) Here’s a breakdown of the news:
Preller’s streak continues
The outcome should come as little surprise. Since Preller was hired as general manager in 2014, no player has gone to an arbitration hearing with the club. Very few arbitration-eligible players have even made it beyond Thursday’s deadline to exchange salary figures without first coming to an agreement.
The team did not disclose the specific salaries of its six arb-eligible players for the upcoming season, but per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Morejon will make $3.9 million and Sheets will make $4.5 million.
No Padre has gone to an arbitration hearing with the team since Andrew Cashner won his hearing prior to the 2014 season.
Why was this significant?
Essentially, the Padres’ salary obligations are now set for next season, and they can move forward with their offseason, knowing those specifics.
Any player tendered a contract ahead of the November deadline to do so is subject to the arbitration process. The system works as such: All players between three and six years of service time — and a select group of players with two-plus years of service time — are arbitration-eligible.
Clearly, Preller has prioritized finalizing agreements with his players before the deadline. Without an agreement, each side would submit its proposed salary before an independent arbitration panel chooses between the two.
How much control do the Padres have left?
Among the Padres’ seven arbitration-eligible players, only two are entering their final season before they can become free agents: Adam and Morejon.
Sheets, meanwhile, has two more seasons of control. Sears and Campusano have three.
Meanwhile, Mason Miller and Freddy Fermin are among the select few arb-eligible players with fewer than three years of service time — known as Super Twos. They are under team control through the 2029 season.
Of course, that’s part of the reason San Diego paid such hefty sums to acquire them at the Trade Deadline last summer. In theory, both will be integral parts of the Padres’ future and could go through this process three further times with the club.
