Padres extend contract of GM A.J. Preller, who has 2nd-longest tenure behind Yanks' Brian Cashman

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — The San Diego Padres have agreed on a multiyear contract extension with general manager A.J. Preller, who has the second-longest tenure among baseball operations chiefs in the big leagues, behind Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees.

The Padres, who announced the deal Monday without disclosing terms, have made the postseason four of the past six years following a stretch of 13 seasons without reaching the playoffs that started in 2007, seven years before the club hired Preller. Cashman has been general manager of the Yankees since 1998.

The 48-year-old Preller, who also has the title of president of baseball operations, has presided over the free agent signings of Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts; trades that landed the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto; and a farm system that produced center fielder Jackson Merrill, who was an All-Star as a rookie in 2024.

Preller was suspended for 30 days in 2016 after MLB investigated the handling of medical information in a trade between San Diego and Boston. The Red Sox sent top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the Padres for All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz. Boston had concerns over whether it had received all relevant medical information on Pomeranz.

The Padres are coming off consecutive 90-win seasons for the first time in club history and have set attendance records at Petco Park each of the past three seasons. San Diego reached the National League championship series in 2022, losing to Philadelphia in five games.

“Under his guidance, our organization has continued to invest in elite talent at both the major and minor league levels while building a strong baseball operations, scouting and player development group,” Padres chairman John Seidler said. “We are confident he will continue to tirelessly pursue the first World Series championship for San Diego.”

The Padres hired Preller away from the Texas Rangers, where he was the assistant general manager. Preller spent the previous three years in baseball operations with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego's biggest rival.

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FILE - San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller answers questions before an Opening Day baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, March 28, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, file)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, the youthful Russian navigator on the “ Star Trek ” television series and several movies, has died. He was 90.

Koenig died Monday at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, talent agent Zachery McGinnis said in a statement.

In “Star Trek,” Ensign Chekov was the sole Communist-bloc member of the spaceship Enterprise bridge staff. His friendly, supportive presence showed how the rival nations (in the far-off future in which the show was set) were capable of working together.

Speaking heavily Russian-accented English, Chekov embodied stereotypical Russian personality traits, including fierce pride, love of poetry and blind loyalty.

“Star Trek” ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969 and has had an almost unprecedented afterlife as fans, or Trekkies, kept interest in the show alive.

“My heart is heavy,” Koenig's castmate, George Takei, said in a post on the social platform X. “Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend.”

“Walter’s legacy extends far beyond the screen. Through countless convention appearances and interactions with fans, he shared his kindness, wit, and appreciation with everyone fortunate enough to meet him. He understood what Star Trek meant to people and embraced the community that grew around it,” McGinnis said. “Thank you, Walter, for the memories, the inspiration, and for boldly going where few have gone before.”

McGinnis said Koenig died surrounded by his daughter and niece.

Koenig played Chekov in seven “Star Trek” movies starting in 1979, as well as innumerable other spinoffs, including writing a “Star Trek” book, “Chekov's Enterprise,” in 1980. The TV show has also inspired two spinoff TV series with new casts, and conventions that draw thousands of fans.

He returned to the science fiction genre with occasional appearances in the syndicated 1990s TV series “Babylon 5.”

FILE- Members of the "Star Trek" crew, from left, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, and Nichelle Nichols, toast the newest "Star Trek" film at Paramount Studios on Dec. 28, 1988. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith, File)

FILE - Walter Koenig appears at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 8, 2018. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)