Padres letting Ryan O’Hearn walk is aging terribly after historic Pirates performance

Ryan O’Hearn had the kind of night that makes everyone who let him get away look like they misplaced the answer key. The Padres are probably the first team on that list. 

O’Hearn went nuclear for Pittsburgh on July 7, going 4-for-5 with three home runs and a franchise-record 10 RBIs in a 12-4 win over the Braves at PNC Park. The timing of this could probably get replayed and resurfaced every time the Friars offense goes silent.

All 10 RBIs came on his three home runs. A first-inning grand slam. Then a three-run shot in the third. And another three-run blast in the sixth. It was absurd enough that even Paul Skenes, who picked up the win with six strong innings, had to laugh at it afterward.

“I think it was kind of selfish, to be honest,” Skenes joked after the game. “Everybody else is getting on and, you know, home runs are rally killers. You hit a three-run home run or a grand slam and it’s just like, what now? There’s nobody on. Nobody can drive him in. Good for him, I guess.”

It was probably nice to Skenes add a little dry humor after a tough go in his recent outings. At the same time, it might sting a bit for the Padres. 

Ryan O’Hearn is making the Padres look foolish with Pirates breakout

The Padres know this one well because they paid a real price to get O’Hearn in the first place. They acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles at the 2025 trade deadline alongside Ramon Laureano, sending Baltimore a six-player minor-league package of left-hander Boston Bateman, infielder Cobb Hightower, right-hander Tyson Neighbors, infielder Brandon Butterworth, utilityman Victor Figueroa and right-hander Tanner Smith.

O’Hearn played 50 games with the Padres and slashed .276/.350/.387 with four home runs and 20 RBI. He bounced between first base, left field and DH, even as plenty of fans kept begging for him to get more consistent playing time. It was not exactly shocking when the Padres let him walk at the end of the year, but that is what makes the Pittsburgh breakout sting. The Pirates gave him a real opportunity, and O’Hearn has responded like a player who got tired of being treated like a temporary piece.

The issue is not that the Padres failed to predict history. It’s more about them failing to maximize yet another player. Pittsburgh found value. The Friars moved on. And while it helps that some of the Padres’ best offensive contributions have come from first base, with Ty France (.254/.312/.467 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI)  and Gavin Sheets (.233/.322/.447 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI), that doesn’t completely erase the sting. O’Hearn’s historic night would be easier to dismiss if the Padres’ stars were carrying their weight. Instead, it becomes another “what if” story in a 2026 season already full of them.

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