The Padres desperately need a left fielder. It’s unavoidable. The upgrade must come soon if they envision contending late into the summer. The answer might be in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Orioles are struggling mightily. After back-to-back playoff appearances, they are mired in an inexplicable slump during the first two months of 2025. The Orioles sit at 15-31, dead last in the AL East. They are 12 games back of the first-place Yankees and 10 games back from a playoff spot in the AL Wild Card.

Baltimore has not publicly said it will wave the white flag and become sellers at the trade deadline in July. A hot June could still completely flip the script. However, even if the Orioles do not completely sell at the deadline, trading a player like Ramón Laureano might make some sense.

The Padres could stand to benefit from that.

San Diego left fielders, as a whole, rank 27th in OPS and 28th in wRC+. Clearly, the left field spot is a gaping hole in the lineup for the Padres. One could argue it’s the biggest hole for a team with World Series aspirations. The urgency of fixing this issue should be high on the priority list.

Even if the Orioles are not in full-fledged sell-off mode, the Padres need to call them about Laureano.

First, Laureano is having a career-year kind of start to the season. He leads all Orioles position players with 1.2 WAR, which has him on pace for a 4.2-WAR season.

At age 30, the Santo Domingo native has become something of a journeyman. Baltimore is the fourth different MLB franchise for which he has appeared in a big league game. The Athletics placed him on waivers in 2023 after a lackluster start to the season at the plate. The Guardians picked him up but then released him in the middle of the 2024 season. He later signed a deal with the Braves and finished last season in Atlanta before signing a one-year deal with Baltimore this season.

And there is the more attractive part of this. Laureano is on a one-year, $4 million deal, with a $6.5 million team option for 2026—the Padres risk very little in acquiring him, minus the players they send to Baltimore in return. The financial aspect is of little concern.

To start this season, Laureano has had something of a renaissance. Between 2021 and 2024, his batting average was .234 with a meager .709 OPS and 100 OPS+. This year, he is batting .272 with a robust .870 OPS and stellar 149 OPS+. These are All-Star-level numbers.

It would be naive to think he could sustain that over 162 games, but even something between that and his career averages would be an enormous upgrade for the Padres. He is hitting the ball harder than he has in years. He has a career .314 BABIP (batting average of balls in play), and he sits at .322 this year. That suggests he isn’t getting abnormally lucky. To an extent, this offensive resurgence is real.

Laureano’s calling card has always been his defense, and that’s no different this year. In just 35 games this season, he has already played all three outfield spots in Baltimore. It should be pointed out that of the three spots, Laureano has played left field the least. However, at Petco Park, left field is the least demanding of the three spots, and he would thrive.

Imagine a defensive outfield of Laureano (72nd percentile for Outs Above Average) in left, Jackson Merrill (97th percentile OAA last year) manning center, and Fernando Tatis Jr. (97th percentile in OAA this year) in right. That could legitimately be the best defensive outfield in baseball and perhaps among the best offensive trios as well.

The Padres don’t necessarily need an MLB All-Star in left field. They just need someone to earn their keep and prevent the bottom from dropping out. If the Padres can simply get league-average production from that spot, this lineup will all of a sudden be as deep as any in the league.

Laureano is on a one-year deal (with a team option for a second year), is 30 years old, and has no strong track record of sustained success at the plate. Therefore, the Orioles won’t be able to get a king’s ransom if they were to trade him.

If the Orioles do bounce back and want a piece they can use this season to contend in exchange, the Padres could oblige from their host of bullpen arms. Either way, a deal like this would not require a premier prospect from San Diego’s farm system.

The two sides should begin talks soon. There is no need to wait until late July, when the Padres’ need is so clearly present. It’s a quick, cheap, low-risk fix for left field.

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.