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)
GENEVA (AP) — Iran's top diplomat met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Monday, ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and said he would also meet with Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi of Oman, which is hosting the U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday.
“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”
As U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an additional aircraft carrier to the region, Iran on Monday launched a second naval drill in weeks, state TV reported. It said the drill would test Iran’s intelligence and operational capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Just before the talks, Iran announced its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard started the drill early Monday morning in the waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Separately, EOS Risk Group said sailors passing through the region received by radio a warning that the northern lane of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iranian territorial waters, likely would see a live-fire drill Tuesday. Iranian state TV did not mention the live fire drill.
This is the second time in recent weeks sailors have received warning about an Iranian live fire drill. During the previous exercise, announced at the end of January, the U.S. military’s Central Command issued a strongly worded warning to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard. While acknowledging Iran’s “right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters,” it warned against interfering or threatening American warships or passing commercial vessels.
On Feb. 4, tensions between the Iranian and U.S. navies rose further after a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Iran also harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military reported.
The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons. On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of international sanctions led by the United States.
“The ball is in America’s court. They have to prove they want to have a deal with us,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. “If we see a sincerity on their part, I am sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement."
"We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program provided that they are also ready to talk about the sanctions,” he added.
Oman hosted a first round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran on Feb. 6.
Similar talks last year between the U.S. and Iran about Iran’s nuclear program broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
The U.S. is also hosting talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbor.
Trump initially threatened to take military action over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month, but then shifted to a pressure campaign in recent weeks to try to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear program.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Budapest, reiterated on Monday that the U.S. hopes to achieve a deal with Iran, despite the difficulties. “I’m not going to prejudge these talks,” Rubio said. “The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things.”
Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join other military assets the U.S. has built up in the region. He also said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
Iran has said if the U.S. attacks, it will respond with an attack of its own.
The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal. Tehran says it won’t agree to that.
Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
The direct meeting with Grossi is a significant step after Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA following the June war with Israel. The two also met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. The IAEA said it has been unable to verify the status of Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium stockpile since the war. Iran has allowed IAEA some access to sites that were not damaged, but has not allowed inspectors to visit other sites.
Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, Grossi previously told The Associated Press. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to Washington last week to urge Trump to ensure that any deal to include steps to neutralize Iran’s ballistic missile program and end its funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Matthew Lee in Budapest, Hungary contributed to this report.
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, shakes hands with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi, left, hold a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
FILE - Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi looks on during a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi, File)
FILE - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on during a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi, File)
