Padres hire A.J. Preller as general manager - MLB

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres have hired A.J. Preller — a former assistant GM with the Rangers — to be their next general manager.

Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler was thought to be the favorite for the gig, which was vacated after the late-June firing of Josh Byrnes, but Preller ultimately won out. Red Sox assistant general manager Mike Hazen and MLB senior VP of baseball operations Kim Ng were among the finalists.

Preller, a 36-year-old graduate of Cornell University, had been with the Rangers for the last 10 years. He was serving as Texas’ director of player development and scouting at the time of his hiring Tuesday night by San Diego and was also the Rangers’ head of international scouting at one point.

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long the slugging first baseman might be sidelined.

Hoskins hit 30 homers with 79 RBIs last season for the reigning National League champions.

He was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Sooner after, he fell to the ground and began clutching his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off of the field.

Hoskins, a free agent at the end of the season who turned 30 last week, hit six homers in Philadelphia’s playoff run last season. The Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The injury was another blow for the Phillies, who will be without top pitching prospect Andrew Painter for another few weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow. And slugger Bryce Harper isn’t expected back until around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.