Padres' Ramon Laureano shared two-word message to A.J. Preller after trade

Padres' Ramon Laureano shared two-word message to A.J. Preller after trade originally appeared on The Sporting News

The San Diego Padres pulled off a couple of big deals at the trade deadline. While the addition of Mason Miller from the Athletics was the headliner, the other moves were equally huge for the Padres.

Aside from Miller, the most important move the Padres made was acquiring Ramon Luareano and Ryan O'Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles. It was an aggressive move that vastly improved the offense in San Diego.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, in a recent piece, shared Laureano's instant reaction to being traded to the Padres, as well as the first message he sent A.J. Preller after the deal was completed. It's a message that resonates strongly with Preller after his deadline moves.

Laureano's Two-Word Message to A.J. Preller

While Laureano was the bigger part of the deal, as he'd take over in the outfield for the Padres, their biggest area of need at the deadline, he wasn't the only piece coming to San Diego. O'Hearn, the AL starting designated hitter in the All-Star game, was also in the deal.

After hearing about O'Hearn being a part of the deal, which was sending him to San Diego, Laureano, according to Rosenthal, was surprised.

"Elias told me, 'You and Ryan.' I was like. 'What the f--? That's crazy, bro," said Laureano. "I told A.J. Preller, 'You're nuts, bro. That's nuts.'"

To land both Orioles players, Preller had to send a six-player prospect haul to the Orioles to make it work. Laureano was a hot commodity at the trade deadline, as was O'Hearn.

For Preller to land both in the same deal was a surprising twist. For the Padres, it was a welcome outcome, as the addition of both helped round out an offense looking to improve from their lackluster first-half performance.

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As Laureano said, this trade was "nuts" in that landing both players was not expected. San Diego was expected to be interested in both, but most expected that it'd be one or the other, not both coming to San Diego.

With a club option in 2026, based on his play, Laureano is expected to return to San Diego next season. In 22 games with the Padres, he has a .325 batting average with a .942 OPS. His 158 OPS+ with the Padres is helping boost his career-best season.

He's on track to set career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Of course, his OPS and OPS+ are also both career highs.

Laureano needs five more home runs, six RBIs, nine doubles, two triples, 24 hits, and 21 more runs to set career highs in each category. He's also at 3.1 WAR, just 0.4 WAR below his career high from 2019.

With a little over a month left, Laureano has a chance to not just have a career year but break nearly every individual record he's set in a single season in his big league career.

He's been one of the best trade deadline pickups this season. While Preller might've been "nuts" to land both Laureano and O'Hearn in one trade, it's worked wonders, as both have been amazing pickups for the Padres amid their postseason push in 2025.

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