What could Preller pull off at Winter Meetings?

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

A.J. Preller has a knack for making things happen at the Winter Meetings.

In his first Winter Meetings as the Padres' general manager in 2014, Preller pulled off a slew of blockbusters to bring Wil Myers, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton to San Diego. In his most recent edition, Preller capped the Meetings by landing Xander Bogaerts.

Come back to this prediction in a week -- I might be very, very wrong -- but I don't think Preller has that level of earth-shattering move up his sleeve next week. Yes, that means I don't see the Padres trading Juan Soto at baseball's annual December extravaganza. (That doesn't mean I don't believe they'll trade Soto -- just that it doesn't seem likely to come to fruition in the very near future.)

I still expect the Padres to be busy. They need pitching. Lots of pitching. More pitching than can be covered in one trade -- even for Juan Soto.

Here's what to expect from the Padres at next week’s Winter Meetings, held Sunday-Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.:

Key events
• Sunday: HOF Contemporary Era ballot results released (Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White)

• Tuesday: Draft Lottery

• Tuesday: Preller, manager Mike Shildt speak with media

• Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs
As mentioned above: pitching. The Padres need innings-eaters, swing-men, middle relievers and back-end relievers. If there's a pitcher available, whether via trade or free agency, San Diego is likely interested in him.

Less pressing -- but still very important -- the Friars could use another catcher and a bit more bench depth. And, oh yeah, they need pitching.

Potential trade candidates
Soto is the obvious one. More on him in a bit. But aside from Soto, Trent Grisham is a possibility to be dealt. The Padres tendered him a contract in mid-November, and Grisham's upside remains untapped. Perhaps another team would be interested in a two-time Gold Glover, believing they'll be the team that can maximize the upside Grisham hasn’t been able to reach in San Diego.

In the meantime, San Diego’s farm system has improved markedly within the past year. All of a sudden, the Padres have legitimate prospects other teams might covet. Though Ethan Salas and Jackson Merrill, the team's first- and second-ranked prospects, respectively, by MLB Pipeline, are unlikely to be moved, the next tier of players is intriguing -- and in play to be dealt for pitching.

Prospect to know
Jakob Marsee, the Padres' No. 12 prospect, just won MVP of the Arizona Fall League. The 22-year-old lefty hitter with a sweet swing batted .391/.508/.707 in the AFL. Maybe he's trade bait. Or … maybe he's a much-needed lefty bench bat and useful outfield depth for a team with two lefty-hitting trade candidates in the outfield.

Rule 5 Draft
The Padres left catcher Brandon Valenzuela unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft, meaning he can potentially be selected by any club but must remain on that team's big league roster for the season. It'll be interesting to see whether another team bites on a 23-year-old defense-first catcher who posted a .711 OPS between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio last season.

On the other side, the Padres have space on their 40-man roster to be active. And unlike last season when their Opening Day bullpen was full, and there wasn't room for Tampa Bay’s José Lopez, there should be plenty of room available this time around if Preller and Co. can find a high-upside bullpen arm.

Burning question
Will the Padres move Soto -- and if so, what’ll it take? They've been coy about any potential trade talks thus far, and rightly so. Their first order of business is to exhaust all potential long-term avenues.

But if Soto is set on hitting the free-agent market next offseason -- as is the prevailing wisdom in baseball circles -- the Padres must begin listening on trade offers. Soto is one of the best hitters in the sport, and San Diego has multiple holes on this roster.

No, he wouldn't fetch quite the haul Preller gave up to acquire him 16 months ago. But he's still Soto, and, presumably, the Padres would have more than a few interested suitors.