A.J. Preller is always lurking somewhere.
Less than two hours before the 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, the Padres GM pulled off one of the major surprise moves of the frenzy by acquiring Marlins reliever Tanner Scott, The Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman confirmed.
The 30-year-old lefty was widely regarded as the premier bullpen option available on the market.
Scott, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season, has posted a microscopic 1.18 ERA in 44 games this season, converting 18 of 20 save situations.
At the same time, Scott’s 5.32 walks per nine innings rank as the 12th-worst among qualified relievers.
Other teams had reportedly shown interest in Scott, including the Yankees, Orioles and Dodgers, Heyman reported.
The former Oriole and Marlin will join the surging Padres, who have won seven of their past eight games and entered play Tuesday tied with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot.
In exchange for Scott, the Padres surrendered lefty Robby Snelling, righty Adam Mazur, infielder Graham Pauley and infielder Jay Beshears — with three of the four ranking as part of the team’s preseason top-five prospects, according to MLB.com.
San Diego also landed 27-year-old righty Bryan Hoeing, who’s collected a 2.70 ERA in 16 games this year.
The Padres previously pulled off a stunner in acquiring Rays reliever Jason Adam on Monday.
Now, newcomers Scott and Adam will pair with Jeremiah Estrada, Robert Suarez and Yuki Matsui in the back end of San Diego’s bullpen.
With Scott, Carlos Estevez, Lucas Erceg, Michael Kopech and others off the board, the best remaining relievers include the Nationals’ Kyle Finnegan, the Rays’ Pete Fairbanks and the Nats’ Dylan Floro — although the clock is ticking to strike deals.
Both the Yankees, who traded for the Cubs’ Mark Leiter Jr., and the Mets — who acquired the Rays’ Tyler Zuber — remain in play for additional bullpen assets.