Padres likely to lose impact outfielder for entire MLB Playoffs

The San Diego Padres built this roster to win on margins — advantages that become big in October. That’s why this news cuts so sharply. San Diego is now prepared to play the entire postseason without Ramón Laureano. It’s not fatal to their chances, but it shrinks the chessboard at the worst possible time.

The timing is brutal given Chicago’s plan to open Game 2 with righty Andrew Kittredge and then hand bulk innings to lefty Shota Imanaga — a clear attempt to steer the top of San Diego’s order into less comfortable looks. With their veteran down, the Padres were already heading into the series with one of their best answers to that gambit, both for quality at-bats against lefties and for late-inning run prevention in the corners. 

Padres likely lose Laureano for full playoff run

Here’s the reality: Ramón Laureano fractured a finger in his right hand on September 24 and hit the injured list over the weekend, which initially put only the Wild Card round in doubt but now reads like a longer stay. Manager Mike Shildt acknowledged the severity: “Sometimes, we come in and talk about, you know, slight fracture, hairline fracture. It’s a fracture… I wouldn’t expect to see him early in the playoffs but I would hold out hope for later.” The club moved him to the IL on September 27 (retroactive to September 25). Even in Shildt’s best-case framing, early rounds are off the table. 

Laureano himself sounded even more sober. He told reporters his finger will be in a splint for roughly three weeks and that he only has “delusional hope” of playing again in 2025. A three-week splint timeline pushes any potential return into the middle or back half of October — i.e., only if the Padres make a deep run. That turns his availability from “questionable” to “long-shot,” and forces San Diego to plan as if he’s done for the year. 

That’s a significant subtraction on performance alone. Since arriving with Ryan O’Hearn at the deadline — a deal that cost San Diego six prospects, Laureano became an everyday piece: nine homers in 49 games, a .271/.325/.492 line and a 128 wRC+, plus three steals and credible defense across all three outfield spots.

Zooming out, this also reframes October’s path. The Padres don’t need to remake their identity; they need to double down on it. They’ve been built to survive low-scoring games and tilt leverage in the sixth through ninth. That still plays — it just leaves less wiggle room when the Cubs stack left-handed looks and dare San Diego’s righties to beat them. If the Padres advance deep enough for mid-to-late October to matter, they can revisit the “delusional hope” scenario. Until then, the plan has to assume their impact left fielder won’t walk back through that door. 

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