San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller Excited About New Additions [AUDIO]

A.J. Preller has been a busy man since he took over as San Diego Padres General Manager last August. He wasted no time reshaping his team's offensive look for 2015 by making four deals last month. On December 18th, he acquired outfielder Matt Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz from the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin. That same day, he dealt away starting pitcher Jesse Hahn to the Oakland A's for power hitting catcher Derek Norris. On December 19th, Preller made two more major trades, acquiring left fielder Justin Upton from the Atlanta Braves and outfielder Will Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays. The following day, he traded for Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks.

In just three short days, Preller quickly became the talk of the baseball world. He joined me at the El Paso Chihuahuas Winter Banquet last night to discuss his new look lineup, his rise to Padres' GM, and what El Paso Chihuahuas fans should expect to see this upcoming season.

One thing that was not discussed during our interview was Petco Park being awarded the 2016 MLB All Star Game, since the announcement was made earlier today. This will be San Diego's third All Star game, but the first two were played at Jack Murphy Stadium in 1978 and 1992. "I am very pleased to award the 2016 All-Star Game to the San Diego Padres, who made a detailed and comprehensive bid in conjunction with city officials," baseball commissioner Bud Selig told MLB.com. "San Diego is one of America's most beautiful cities, and showcasing Petco Park in its thriving downtown will be a remarkable opportunity for the Padres franchise and all of Major League Baseball." I would expect the El Paso Chihuahuas to have some great cross-promotions lined up with the Padres for the 2016 All Star Game.