For the second time in four years, A.J. Preller turned the San Diego Padres into the biggest stars of baseball’s trade deadline.

In 2022, the San Diego general manager snagged slugger Juan Soto, sending James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and three others to Washington in an eight-player blockbuster.

Then on Thursday, the aggressive Preller pulled off a slightly less seismic version of that deal, trading top prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics and bringing back closer Mason Miller.

Prospects that highly touted are rarely dealt anymore. De Vries, a shortstop, is ranked No. 3 overall by MLB Pipeline. Last year at the deadline, none of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects were traded.

By the time this year’s deadline passed, Preller had traded 14 players and acquired eight. Left-hand

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