Perfect Padres trade deadline move is already turning heads in San Diego

The San Diego Padres went wild at the MLB trade deadline, putting together one of the most memorable single-team deadlines in recent memory. Even amid ownership questions and a well-documented financial crunch, nothing can keep A.J. Preller down.

He made three huge trades to acquire Mason Miller and J.P. Sears from the Athletics, Freddy Fermín from the Kansas City Royals and Ryan O'Hearn and Ramón Laureano from the Baltimore Orioles. All five newcomers figure to play important roles down the stretch.

While the Mason Miller trade really shook the foundations of the league — it included No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries going to the A's — one addition has stood out in a hugely positive light so far, and it's not Miller. It's Laureano, who continues apace with the best season of his career.

Through three games and 12 at-bats with the Padres going into Monday night, Laureano is 3-of-12 with a home run, a triple and two RBI. His homer — a 399-foot opposite field bomb — is the third-longest oppo-taco at Petco Park since 2020.

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Ramón Laureano makes immediate strong impression on Padres fans

Laureano is up to 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 271 at-bats on the season. He's hitting .288 with a career-high .886 OPS and 144 wRC+ — the latter being the highest on the Padres roster right now.

It helps that Laureano is surging at the exact right moment for the Padres. So much of the trade deadline is capitalizing on momentum. Laureano is swinging a white-hot bat heading into the stretch run, which should help the Padres' postseason run as the everyday leftfielder. He has a 54.4 percent hard-hit rate and 167 wRC+ since July 7.

Ramón Laureano trade helps Padres in more ways than one

The impetus for this trade was simple — beefing up the outfield depth chart, which has been a point of weakness for San Diego all season. After the Jason Heyward DFA, San Diego was left to sift through mediocre options for a while. Gavin Sheets is a potent bat, but he's a negative defender. That is what makes the Laureano addition especially appealing.

In addition to an offensive upgrade, Laureano gives the Padres plus defense in the left corner. He doesn't cover a ton of ground, but he has Arm Value (3) in the 97th percentile and arm strength (89.6 MPH) in the 85th percentile, per Baseball Savant. Laureano can nail errant runners with a canon in left field.

Beyond the 2025 campaign, which is clearly the focus for A.J. Preller and the Padres front office, Laureano has an affordable $6.5 million. So, unlike fellow new arrival Ryan O'Hearn, he is more than a rental. The Padres can squeeze two postseason runs out of the 31-year-old before worrying about his next contract. Add in the controllable contracts of Miller, Sears and Fermín, and San Diego is geared up for several years to come. This deadline was about more than the short term, even if the Padres gave up significant prospect capital to force these deals across the finish line.

Laureano was merely a piece to the grand puzzle of Preller's deadline, but the talented outfielder is already showing why Padres fans should be excited about his arrival.