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In a significant blow to the San Diego Padres' farm system, the team's top prospect is expected to miss a considerable portion of the season, likely returning at some point in July.
Catcher Ethan Salas is dealing with a stress reaction in his lower back, which has kept him out since April 17, when he had to leave a game that day for a pinch runner due to the back pain he experienced.
It was not until April 26 that he was placed on the injured list due to a lack of progress in his back rehabilitation at the Padres' complex in Arizona. He continued swinging the bat during this time, but the back issue persisted.
Ethan Salas, 18 years old and racking up three-hit games at Double-A ⚡️
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 10, 2025
The @Padres' second-ranked prospect -- the youngest player in the Texas League -- plates a pair for @missionsmilb: pic.twitter.com/B1l4ZnbOGN
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller believes that the injury will not linger in the long term; rather, the real disappointment stems from his lack of playing time and, therefore, development time this season in Double-A.
“The first we heard about, it was the early part of this season,” Preller said to reporters including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune.
“Started sitting out for a few days, came back, felt good, started playing again or taking batting practice again, (then) feeling it a little bit again. Thought he could play with it. Obviously super young, didn’t want to risk anything.
“It’s not anything that our doctors feel is long-term … It’s going to be we’ll see how he responds to the rest and everything like that."
Salas is one of the most highly-regarded prospects the organization has to offer, ranked No. 29 in the top 100 by MLB.com.
Ethan Salas to Cobb Hightower pic.twitter.com/g72bAzaQJa
— Danny (@dannybarrand_) March 1, 2025
The catcher position remains underwhelming for the Padres, likely presenting an opportunity for Salas — if he continues to develop — to join the majors sooner rather than later. However, MLB.com projects Salas to debut in 2027.
It is unclear how the injury will affect his development. Though a delay is guaranteed, if he comes back performing at a high level, he will end up just fine.
In 10 games for Double-A San Antonio, Salas is slashing .188/.325/.219.
For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.
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'Most likely scenario' for Terry McLaurin revealed
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Micah Parsons' trade request will fall on deaf ears with Cowboys' firm stance
Jerry Jones got his wish. As we enter August and with the 2025-26 NFL season just over a month away, the Dallas Cowboys are the talk of the town and the lead story on every sports debate and talk show. Thanks to a gross mishandling of the Micah Parsons contract situation, the superstar defender publicly announced he has requested a trade from the Cowboys, while putting the organization on blast for their handling of negotiations. According to Parsons' statement, Jerry and company attempted to ice out his agent, David Mulugheta, from the talks. That led to Parsons sharing his trade request and potentially shaking up the NFL landscape. But not so fast, because the Cowboys don't have to give in to Parsons' request, and they have contractual control for the next three seasons, with no plans of caving in. "Regardless of the request, the Cowboys do not plan on moving Parsons," Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote. "Even if an agreement on an extension does not come, Dallas has all of the control around Parsons’ future and is prepared to use the franchise tag to keep him around in 2026 and 2027 if it’s needed." This sets up an interesting game of chicken. The Cowboys don't have to do a thing, while all Parsons can do is sit and wait for the contract to expire and the opportunities for the franchise tag to go away. No one wants to sit out for three years. Not only that, but Parsons would rack up millions in fines. If he's not willing to take the $50,000 fine a day for holding out of training camp, he's not going to want to give up game checks. It's an ugly situation, and a major distraction for those who just want to ball, so let's hope Jerry can come to his senses and make something happen. At the very least, give Mulugheta a call.
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