SAN DIEGO -- The Winter Meetings were winding down in Nashville last December, when A.J. Preller sat at a makeshift podium in the media workroom in the wee hours of the final night.

The Padres¡¯ general manager proceeded to discuss, in great detail, the trade that sent Juan Soto and Trent Grisham -- two-thirds of his starting outfield -- to the Yankees. San Diego was suddenly in dire need of outfielders, and Preller acknowledged as much. It was his job to find them, he said.

Eight months later, the Padres boast one of the best outfields in the sport. All three of their starters were named to the 2024 All-Star Game, which takes place Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Texas.

But here's the thing: Preller never quite found those outfielders he spent so long searching for. For months, he scoured the trade market, eyeing potential starters in left field and center field. As it turned out, in Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill, the solutions were much closer to home.

When the Padres opened camp, Fernando Tatis Jr. -- who won't travel to the All-Star Game as he rehabs a stress reaction in his right femur -- was one of only two outfielders on the 40-man roster, alongside Jos¨¦ Azocar.

A few days later, the Padres re-signed Profar. He spent the final month of the 2023 season with San Diego after being released by Colorado. Despite a solid finish, the '23 campaign was still one of the worst of Profar¡¯s career.

For that reason, Profar was available in late February and signed a very team-friendly deal with incentives baked in.

"I signed for only $1 million," said a self-aware Profar. "That's not a starting player's salary."

Indeed, Preller continued to seek answers in left field, even after Profar¡¯s arrival. One of those options was Merrill, a highly ranked shortstop prospect. Merrill had never played much outfield. But what is Spring Training for, if not experimenting?

In the first game of the spring, the Padres stuck Merrill in left. The Dodgers peppered him. Merrill ranged to the wall to make a nice play on a deep fly ball. He dove to snare a top-spun line drive.

It was only Day 1 of the Cactus League. But it was a performance that made Padres decision-makers sit up and take note. They'd been searching the trade market for a center fielder for weeks. Was it possible they might already have one? In a meeting after the game that day, they discussed the possibility.

The Padres did not share the plan with Merrill. They wanted a few more looks at him in left field. Then, on Feb. 27, Merrill arrived at the Peoria Sports Complex and saw "CF" next to his name in the starting lineup.

That's when it clicked.

"I was like, 'OK, let's learn center field,'" recalled Merrill, who had never played a game in center field at any level. "That spot was open. That's what we need. That's what the team needs."

It didn't take long to convince Padres manager Mike Shildt he¡¯d found the answer.

"[I knew it] the first day he played center field," Shildt recalled. "He'd played left, made multiple tough plays, did a nice job. Then, he went to center, ran down a ball, played the game well. I knew how he was going about big league camp. And that was it, man. He was in there. That's why, if you noticed, that's when he started playing center every day. ¡­ He's made this look way easier than it really is."

Merrill¡¯s position switch was necessary in part because, well, Profar mashed all spring, too.

"We signed [Profar], and he came ready to [freaking] play," Merrill said. "I loved that. Everybody's competing for a job. But I wasn't competing against Pro. I was just competing. Then the opportunity came [in center field], and they put me out there. I was excited for that, too."

It'd be easy to say the Padres lucked into their All-Star outfield. They didn¡¯t actually replace Soto and Grisham. They merely used what they had at their disposal. But that narrative discredits the amount of faith the Padres showed in Merrill and Profar in the first place -- faith that would allow both to thrive.

"They saw my at-bats in Spring Training and trusted me," Profar said. "I think if I went to another team that just looked at my results in the past, I wouldn't be here."

Now Profar is a first-time All-Star, joined in Texas by Merrill, closer Robert Suarez and infielder Luis Arraez. (A relevant aside: Would the Padres have been able to trade for Arraez had they used those pieces to acquire an outfielder during Spring Training as they originally planned? Probably not.)

¡°Props to Jackson Merrill and Tatis,¡± Profar said of the Padres¡¯ outfield trio. ¡°We already knew who [Tatis] is. But I'm so proud of Jackson, man. I've really liked the kid, since we stepped on the field together. He has a winning mentality. He wants to get better every day. I can see myself in him.¡±

As well he should. Together, they solved the Padres¡¯ outfield riddle in a way few could¡¯ve ever envisioned.