Padres promote Jase Bowen from El Paso after Laureano injury setback

Ramón Laureano’s right hip inflammation cracked open San Diego’s outfield depth chart, and Jase Bowen was the beneficiary, jumping from Triple-A El Paso to the Padres for his major-league debut. Laureano was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, and the move took effect June 2, just before San Diego opened its series in Philadelphia. MLB’s injury tracker points to a late-June return as a possibility, which leaves Bowen with a real opportunity to turn a hot stretch in El Paso into something more than a brief stopover.

For the Padres, the move changes the immediate outfield rotation. Laureano, who had been part of the Opening Day group alongside Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Bryce Johnson, now loses his active role while Bowen gets the first crack at major-league at-bats. Johnson had beaten Bowen for the final bench outfield job in March, with José Miranda also in the mix, but the injury to Laureano gave San Diego a new opening and pushed Bowen back into the picture at once.

That promotion was earned by production, not just timing. Bowen entered the call-up hitting .292/.362/.600 with 13 home runs, 36 RBI and seven stolen bases in 49 games for El Paso. He was San Diego’s No. 23 prospect at the time, and the Padres had signed him as a Minor League free agent in November 2025. Since then, he had shown enough pop and defensive value to stand out as one of the organization’s best outfield options at the highest minor-league level.

Bowen’s El Paso résumé also gave the Padres reasons to believe the bat could travel. He hit a 462-foot home run in May, launched a two-run inside-the-park homer on May 20, and made a diving catch in April that underscored why the club viewed him as more than a one-tool call-up. In Philadelphia, he wasted little time getting on the board, collecting his first big-league hit on a bloop single on June 2.

That is the immediate test now: whether Bowen is simply covering for an injured outfielder or forcing his way into a longer look. Laureano’s absence opens the door, but Bowen’s Triple-A line and all-around game are what make the opening worth watching.