A.J. Preller is finding traction amid a low-transaction offseason that seems to have been complicated by a budget crunch. Start with Friday’s breakthrough: the arbitration-avoiding, one-year contract reached between Preller and Padres co-ace Michael King.

The New York Mets have been in talks with the San Diego Padres about a potential trade for right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease. However, a deal seems unlikely because the Padres are asking for a high price,

The Padres have been said through much of the offseason to be looking for ways to shed payroll and chief among those ways is the rumored potential trade of ace Dylan Cease. Among other teams, obviously,