When the San Diego Padres landed Ryan O’Hearn at the trade deadline in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, the idea was for him to come in and be an above-average player in San Diego. It felt like, at times, that wasn’t the case for whatever reason, although his numbers weren’t horrible.
On the surface, in 50 games with the Padres, O’Hearn still posted a 105 OPS+. He only had 10 extra-base hits, which was way down from his 28 in the first half with the Orioles, but he was an All-Star in 2025, and there should be a team willing to pay the 32-year-old to be an everyday player.
When predicting which team might be for the former Padres veteran, Will Laws of Sports Illustrated suggested the Cincinnati Reds could be the team.
“A feel-good breakout hitter in his age-31 season, O’Hearn absolutely raked for the Orioles in the first half before returning to his career norm upon being traded to the Padres—that is, a slightly above-average hitter at first base. There’s a good chance 2025 will be the only year he ever makes it to the All-Star Game, and a true World Series contender will likely want more from his position. But the lefty’s bat-to-ball skill and commendable defense at least gives him a high production floor,” he wrote.
O’Hearn would be an intriguing option for a team like the Reds, especially when factoring in how small Great American Ball Park plays.
He has some power, but not a ton. However, if he played in Great American Ball Park for a whole year, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him hit 25 homers.
More news: