SAN DIEGO -- With Juan Soto a year away from free agency, a crucial offseason looms, and the Padres appear to be keeping their options open with their superstar outfielder.

General manager A.J. Preller -- who, on Wednesday, confirmed that he will be returning for a 10th full season in charge -- discussed Soto’s status in his end-of-season media availability. Preller said the team’s “first path” would be exploring a potential extension with the 24-year-old slugger.

“We’ll have those conversations here when we get into the offseason, seeing where his head’s at, and figure out if there’s some common ground,” Preller said.

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And if there’s not?

If the Padres and Soto can’t come to terms on a potential extension, it puts the team in a tricky situation.

Entering his final season of arbitration, Soto is due a raise on his $23 million from 2023. The Padres have a number of holes to fill elsewhere on their roster, and might be reluctant to lose Soto for nothing but Draft compensation next winter.

As such, rumors have emerged that the Padres would consider trading Soto this offseason. Speaking Wednesday, Preller didn’t exactly shut down that possibility.

“We’ve never been a group that says no to anything,” Preller said. “I wouldn’t read into that. That’s just kind of the way we operate. But, again, I think the first path is going to be to go down the road of having a conversation with Juan and [agent] Scott Boras and kind of seeing where that’s at.”

Soto is coming off an All-Star season in which he posted a .275/.410/.519 slash line with a career-high 35 home runs, while playing a full 162-game slate for the first time in his career. He was the Padres’ top offensive performer in 2023, and losing Soto would obviously be a major blow.

On top of that, Soto touted a new level of comfort in San Diego in 2023, after an adjustment period in ’22 following his Trade Deadline acquisition from Washington.

“It’s just been great,” Soto said on Sunday. “Great city, great stadium, great fanbase. It’s unbelievable, playing in San Diego, how much fun I have throughout the season. I know there were tough moments, but definitely the fans were there.”

The Padres, of course, gave up a boatload of young talent to acquire Soto at that 2022 Trade Deadline. They’d surely be able to recoup some long-term pieces if they were to trade Soto this winter.

But at what cost to their 2024 chances? Despite their disappointing ’23 season, the Padres believe their championship window remains open. Soto -- a three-time All-Star, perennial MVP candidate and potential future Hall of Famer -- undeniably boosts those odds.

“We’ve got some really core, key pieces that are in place going into next year,” Preller said. “Juan’s a huge part of that in the middle part of the order. As we get into the offseason, our first line with Juan is trying to see what this looks like with him being a part of the Padres going forward.”