The San Diego Padres didn’t overthink the layup. Picking up Ramón Laureano’s $6.5 million club option is the sort of obvious, low-drama decision winning teams make early in the winter: lock in a proven everyday bat at a bargain rate and move on to the bigger puzzles. Laureano earned it.
Across the 2025 season, the right-hitting outfielder posted a .281/.342/.512 slash with 24 homers in 488 plate appearances, the kind of consistent thump and edge that played everywhere he went. For a club that wants less noise and more certainty, this is exactly that — cost-controlled pop with above-average defense and a competitive streak that tends to ripple through a clubhouse.