Ethan Salas Survived the Trade Deadline. Can We Officially Call Him the Padres' Catcher of the Future Now?

[Randy Holt]

That catching prospect Ethan Salas escaped the trade deadline still a member of the San Diego Padres organization served as a mild surprise. Once it became evident that the team would be buyers, there wasn't really an existent threshold between a pathway to improving the current roster and A.J. Preller's penchant for dealing away prospects in pursuit of a win-now mentality. 

Fortunately for the Padres, Salas never really appeared to be in danger of moving as the Padres worked in tiers other than the very top of the market in order to improve their rotation. Which means now the conversation around Salas can transition to his future in San Diego.

Of course, the immediate question in such a conversation becomes just how quickly that future can come to fruition. 

Salas is still only 20 years old (and has been for just a couple of months), but carries the weight of the entire farm system on his back. He rose through the minor-league ranks rapidly between 2023 and 2025, with injuries slowing him down from what could have been a Triple-A appearance as a 19-year-old last season. Nevertheless, he progressed to El Paso at the end of July of this year and now stands on the precipice of a major-league appearance. 

The sample with the Chihuahuas remains minuscule (11 games, 52 plate appearances), but after earning his promotion, Salas has done nothing but rake since his promotion. It's not even just that the numbers have been good (Salas has slashed .326/.404/.605 with a .279 ISO, good for a 133 wRC+); it's that the underlying trends look incredible.

Salas is showing an advanced approach even as a youngster in Triple-A. He's swinging a lot, but he's not chasing. That's allowed him to maintain a high rate of contact (much of which has been quality) and a 14.0 percent walk rate that holds up well against a strong 16.3 percent strikeout rate. Considering the lack of questions about his defensive acumen (again, even given the age), it's only natural to wonder if a call-up upon roster expansion could be imminent. 

Such a question might be absurd for a contending team in the midst of a playoff chase. But starting catcher Freddy Fermin has struggled mightily (.197/.275/.320, 69 wRC+) at the plate, and Luis Campusano, while improved defensively, profiles more as a backup with the ability to DH than as someone you're going to entrench in the starting gig over long stretches of time. 

The former issue has been at least temporarily solved. Fermin hit .292 in July and is well over .300 through our small sample in August. He's also hitting the ball hard at his highest rate (37.5 percent) since April. So, there's some steady improvement with the bat there, in addition to the fact that his Fielding Run Value ranks sixth among qualifying catchers. That's not exactly a trend you want to remove from regular work, and the Padres aren't going to be inclined to have Salas sit on the bench behind him when everyday reps will surely benefit him more in the long run.

However, it's not as if Fermin is a surefire option for the long haul. While he's excellent with the glove in his hand, his bat has been more of the streaky variety, especially since his arrival in San Diego last season. It's entirely possible that the team could give Salas a cup of coffee upon the expansion of rosters in September just to get him some exposure to the top level. More realistically, though, we're looking at him as legitimately part of the catching mix come next spring. 

That alone is a really exciting possibility. Franchise catchers are a rarity in the game, and Salas has spent a healthy 2026 looking, once again, like he has the chops to become just that. The stall in his development because of last year's health issues appears to be behind him and, regardless of what the timeline could look like, it doesn't seem like it'll be too much longer before an opportunity presents itself.

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