Take a seat and kick up your feet, A.J. Preller. Your work here is done. Or is it? While the San Diego Padres' first-year general manager could have rested on his transactions at several points this offseason and considered it a success, he never has. In fact, Preller has done nothing but work since taking the job in August, overseeing an aggressive and expensive overhaul of San Diego's major league roster. An overhaul that actually got a little more aggressive and a lot more expensive when he inked pitcher James Shields to the largest free-agent contract in franchise history. The signing ends the unexpectedly drawn-out drama surrounding Shields' free agency. At one point, it was believed Shields could land somewhere between $100 million-$110 million over four or five years on the open market. However, as the weeks passed by, the likelihood of such an expensive contract passed along with it, which no doubt piqued Preller's interest. With the market working in his favor, Preller jumped in strong over the past couple of weeks. As the rumors changed and Shields' self-imposed deadline neared, the one constant was San Diego's interest in Shields. The pursuit paid off, and now the...