Ryan O'Hearn ultimately went from the Baltimore Orioles to San Diego Padres at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, but he could have just as easily landed with the Milwaukee Brewers.
As O'Hearn tells it, multiple Brewers players, including DL Hall, texted him in the lead-up to the deadline to say, “Hey, we put in a good offer for you,” according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
The Orioles were headed to Chicago at the deadline to start a series with the Cubs the next day. O'Hearn decided to stay back in Baltimore as the uncertainty played out.
“There were so many rumors,” O’Hearn said. “I was thinking it could be Boston. Boston was right up the street. Why am I going to fly to Chicago? I was just like screw it, I’ll stay here.”
O'Hearn said he even asked Orioles GM Mike Elias if he could be traded to one of the two Texas teams so he could be closer to his home in Dallas, but Elias was unable to make it work.
“Which I get,” O’Hearn said. “He’s got to do his job.”
When O'Hearn, an impending free agent, landed in San Diego, that was just fine, too. As of Monday, the Padres are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West with plenty of padding in the Wild Card standings.
“If I go to the playoffs and World Series, I figure I’ll be fine in free agency,” O’Hearn said. “Teams want to see you perform in the postseason. This team is going to get there.”
The outfielder and DH is back to producing at the level he did with the Orioles. In 20 games with the Padres, he is hitting .255 with an .818 OPS and three home runs — and that's after a rough first nine games as he adjusted to his new home. He started out just 3-22 (.136) before going on his recent tear.
