Ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, the San Diego Padres brought in Ramon Laureano - a .290 hitter from the Baltimore Orioles who finished the season with 24 home runs - to address an inconsistent offense at the time of the deal.
After an underwhelming start to the 2026 campaign, he was placed on the injured list with hip inflammation . It was later revealed that Laureano had been playing through pain for close to two months, which also appeared to have hindered his play.
The veteran recently told The Athletic's Dennis Lin that on April 8, a game in which he had two hits and two stolen bases, he first started to feel the pain.
"Something happened there," Laureano said. "And I was like, 'Screw it. Let's just continue to play ball.'"
From April 9 until May 30, his final game before being put on the shelf, Laureano was hitting .190 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. In the 11 games before his injury, Laureano had a pair of home runs and six RBIs, collecting 11 hits.
"I have no idea why I kept playing," Laureano said. "I'm such an idiot. Stupid, really. That's some stupid s- right there."
Though a return is highly unlikely at this point in the season, the 32-year-old still isn't ruling out a potential postseason cameo.
"I'm not ruling it out," Laureano said. "Every day, I'm working, dreaming about being in the playoffs and performing. But to make it more specific, the chances of me playing are, like, less than 5%, the way I have to do all my [rehab] and what the doctor told me to do."
After hitting .305 last August and looking to carry his productivity into the postseason, Laureano fractured his index finger with just three regular season games left.
"The finger," he told Lin, "was a 0% chance [at returning for the postseason]."
Perhaps if Laureano didn't play through the hip injury for as long as he did, he would be trending towards a postseason return, but what-ifs will do no good for the immediate task at hand.
As for the Padres' playoff hopes, Laureano wants to not only return to the postseason stage for the first time since 2024 (where he went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in two appearances with the Atlanta Braves ), but fulfill his obligation as a sought-after trade piece last season.
"They traded for me, and I didn't even play a playoff game with them," Laureano said. "Hopefully, I can if they sign me back [next year]."
After Laureano's club option was picked up ahead of the 2026 campaign, he is set to become a free agent at the close of this season.
Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi as Padres' Injured 24-Home Run Slugger Not Ruling Out Miraculous Postseason Return .
