Padres To Promote Ethan Salas

Healthy again, Salas has reestablished himself as one of the best young talents in the sport. He hit .286/.361/.417 across 72 contests to earn a bump to Triple-A El Paso at the end of July. Salas hasn’t had any problem with the top minor league level, batting .326/.410/.539 with more walks than strikeouts across 24 games.

Baseball America, FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic each rank Salas as the game’s top catching prospect and among the top 15 minor league talents. MLB Pipeline slots Salas 23rd overall and fourth among backstops. He’s unanimously viewed as the marquee talent in an otherwise unimpressive Padres’ system.

Evaluators are effusive in their praise for Salas’ defensive acumen. There’s a little more question about the offensive ceiling, particularly from a power perspective, but he has shown an advanced approach with excellent contact ability this year.

San Diego is making a sizable show of faith in calling Salas up in a tight Wild Card race. They’ve gotten decent work out of the Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin duo in the second half, though both players have slumped in the last couple weeks. It’s unclear how much immediate playing time they’ll give Salas, but the Padres could’ve recalled Blake Hunt or Rodolfo Durán if they wanted a pure depth catcher to round out the bench.

Salas adds a left-handed bat to an offense that lost Gavin Sheets and the switch-hitting Luis Rengifo over the weekend. That’d provide some balance off a heavily right-handed bench even if Salas breaks in as the third catcher. He’ll have a few weeks to make a case for a potential playoff roster if San Diego qualifies and/or an Opening Day spot in 2027. The Friars will need to select his contract but can easily accommodate him by transferring Rengifo to the 60-day injured list, as he’s slated for ACL surgery. They’ll also be able to bring up a 14th pitcher for September.

Despite the late-season call, Salas will remain rookie eligible in 2027 and could net the Padres a future draft pick via the Prospect Promotion Incentive if he breaks camp and meets the award criteria (i.e. Rookie of the Year or a top three MVP finish within his first three seasons). He’ll be under club control for at least six full seasons and won’t qualify for arbitration until the 2029-30 offseason at the earliest.

The bigger roster consideration is that the Padres are selecting Salas onto the 40-man roster a year earlier than would’ve been necessary to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That means he’ll be subject to a potential lockout and would be ineligible for minor league play if the work stoppage carries into next season.