Padres Place Star Outfielder on IL Days Before Wild Card Series

Sep 17, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Ramon Laureano (5) celebrates with center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after defeating the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres made a roster move ahead of their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, placing outfielder Ramon Laureano on the 10-day injured list and recalling infielder Will Wagner from the Arizona Complex League.

We have placed OF Ramón Laureano on the 10-day IL with a right index finger fracture (retro to 9/25) and recalled INF Will Wagner from the Arizona Complex League.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 27, 2025

Laureano suffered a fractured finger while swinging the bat against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, and will now definitely miss the Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs. The soonest he can return is Oct. 5.

The outfielder has been one of the Padres' most productive players on offense since arriving with All-Star Ryan O'Hearn at the trade deadline, posting a .812 OPS with nine home runs during his time with San Diego.

“It sucks,”O’Hearn said. “Everybody here has seen what kind of player he is and how much he has produced. I’ve been a witness to it all year long. It’s tough, because you get to this point in the season, you want to go to postseason at full strength, and a guy like that — he was hitting the middle of the order, he has been electric in the outfield. … A tough pill to swallow. It sucks. But in this game, injuries happen. You got a lot of good players, so someone’s going to step up and go get the wild card.”

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Designated hitter Gavin Sheets stood in for Laureano in the Padres' series opener against the D-backs on Friday and will likely be his replacement, however manager Mike Shildt also said outfielder Bryce Johnson could get some time.Wagner also arrived at the trade deadline, coming from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Brandon Valenzuela.

Wagner's appearances have been few and far between for the big league club since his arrival, logging just 12 at-bats and recording one hit.While not quite up to speed at the MLB level, Wagner had a solid season with Triple-A El Paso, posting a .738 OPS through 17 games with the Chihuahuas.

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Laureano is a big miss for the Padres, and they will hope the rest of the offense can carry their weight in his absence.

The Padres' playoff seed is locked in at fifth after the Cubs won their game Saturday afternoon, so they can potentially rest some players before their trip to Wrigley Field for the opening game of the series Sept. 30.

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