Braden Ramsey

Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and the 2025 San Diego Padres currently having a crisis at catcher. Unfortunately, there's nothing any of us can do about the first two certainties. The third, however, is fixable. And according to a former MLB general manager, A.J. Preller is trying to rectify it in a big way. On Thursday's episode of Foul Territory, The Athletic's Jim Bowden claimed San Diego "would like to pry" 2023 All-Star catcher Sean Murphy away from the Atlanta Braves. Bowden's statement came during a segment centered on the Braves potentially becoming sellers at the trade deadline. He added that the Tampa Bay Rays were alongside the Padres as suitors for Murphy. Murphy, 30, won a Gold Glove in 2021 and received an MVP vote in 2022 while playing for the Oakland Athletics. Atlanta landed him after the 2022 campaign in a three-team trade involving the A's and Milwaukee Brewers, who acquired two-time Silver Slugger and All-Star catcher William Contreras from the Braves in the deal. At the moment, Murphy is the right-handed member of Atlanta's backstop platoon. Drake Baldwin -- his 24-year-old, left-handed hitting catching comrade -- has gotten acclimated to the majors quickly, posting a .278/.353/.489 slash line with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 61 games entering play on Thursday. Murphy, who is tied with Contreras for the 11th-best fWAR among catchers (min. 100 PA), has been no slouch. His wRC+ (116) is 11th-best at the position (min. 100 PA) and he's a terrific defender. But Baldwin, whose fWAR (2.1) ranks sixth and wRC+ (136) slots fifth, has simply been the better hitter. And he's under team control through 2030 at a fraction of Murphy's cost. Last week, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Murphy was "unlikely to move" at the Trade Deadline. The Braves have lost six of seven contests since then, though, which could lead them to sing a different tune over the next few weeks. If they alter course, expect Preller to be ready to pounce. All stats courtesy of FanGraphs as of 7/10/25. View full rumor

By virtue of Manny Machado's 2,000th hit, July 7th, 2025, is a day that will go down in Padres' history. It will also hopefully represent the day that the straw broke the camel's back with regard to San Diego's current catching situation. It's no secret that the tandem of Martin Maldonado and Elias Diaz has been... underwhelming (and that's putting it kindly). By fWAR, they form the second-worst catching group in Major League Baseball. Entering Tuesday's action, they are the third-worst MLB catching room in wRC+ and OPS. Their standing in the latter category has somehow fallen two spots in the five days since The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the Padres were scouring the market for an "offensive upgrade" at the position. Most teams with good offensive catchers aren't keen on trading them away, which leaves A.J. Preller two options: proceed as currently constructed (yuck) or pluck from an already depleted farm system to fill the void. If he goes the second route, Twins Daily's Cody Christie believes Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers could be balm for the Padres' catching woes. Jeffers, 28, is having a solid offensive season (.237/.336/.377, 15 2B, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 26 R) with career-best walk rates (11.4%) and strikeout rates (18.5%). His wRC+ (103) is a handful of ticks below his 2024 number (106), but both are essentially league-average figures. He ranks 18th among MLB catchers (min. 100 PA) in the metric this year. Unsurprisingly, Diaz (wRC+ of 71) and Maldonado (49) are much worse. Jeffers is not as good defensively as Diaz, and his defensive reputation doesn't match Maldonado's. However, in 2025, Jeffers has been better than Maldonado behind the plate. He is inferior as a framer, but vastly superior as a blocker -- where Maldonado is the league's fourth-worst catcher -- and thrower, where Maldonado is at the bottom of the barrel. Blocks Above Average CS Above Average Framing Runs Fielding Run Value (Percentile) Elias Diaz 2 2 -2 40 Ryan Jeffers 0 0 -3 20 Martin Maldonado -7 -6 -1 3 (Data courtesy of Baseball Savant.) Acquiring Jeffers to replace Maldonado for just the remainder of the 2025 campaign would be immensely helpful, but he'd also provide major dividends beyond this season. Maldonado is playing on a one-year deal, while Diaz has a $7 million mutual option for 2026. Jeffers is slated to hit free agency following the 2026 season, but shapes up as a much better financial investment than Diaz as a one-year bridge or longer-term complement to Ethan Salas. On paper, Jeffers makes a ton of sense for San Diego. But without Jeffers, the Twins would find themselves in a similar predicament to the Padres at the major league level. And they don't have a high-end catching prospect, like Salas, developing in the wings. For these reasons, it'd take a hefty offer to snatch Jeffers from Minnesota, in Christie's opinion. Nett, Baez and Ornelas, who made his MLB debut on Apr. 19, are San Diego's best prospects that, per MLB.com's rankings, should be ready to debut in 2025 or 2026. Ornelas is the lone position player among the Padres' top 30 prospects expected to be ready before 2027, so his potential loss could sting. However, it's clear this team can't make a deep playoff run (and may not be able to make the postseason at all) without catching reinforcements. If that's the goal, parting with prospect capital is a necessity, whether it be for Jeffers or an alternative. Would you support the Padres swapping the likes of Braden Nett, Henry Baez and/or Tirso Ornelas -- or others -- for Ryan Jeffers? Let us know in the comments. And, as always, stay locked in on all Padres news and rumors right here at Padres Mission. View full article

For the first time in 2025, the San Diego Padres posted a record below .500 in a month. Their winning percentage has dipped each successive month of the season, culminating in the 13-15 record they posted in June. If the Padres are to turn the tide, they'll need their offense to pick up the pace. Averaging 3.8 runs per contest – like they did last month – simply won't cut it going forward in a quickly tightening National League wild card race. Run production, as it was for May, is again the focus for our Hitter of the Month. By those metrics, there was no contest for who shone the brightest in June. But before we sing his praises, we'll recognize a couple of other batsmen who recorded strong performances. 3. Xander Bogaerts June Stats: .290/.345/.440, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 12 R, 2 SB Signs of life? Bogaerts’ June batting average (.290) was his highest in a single month – minimum 60 plate appearances – since Sept./Oct. 2023. His June ISO (.150) surpasses that of his first two months (.107 in March/April, .080 in May). By wRC+ (123), Bogaerts was San Diego's best hitter in June. For the Padres to accomplish their goals, they need this version of him, resembling the player he was in Boston, for the rest of the year. 2. Fernando Tatis Jr. June Stats: .235/.370/.337, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 19 R, 7 SB By no means was June the strongest month of Tatis Jr.’s career, or even the 2025 season for that matter. However, he bounced back in a much-needed way after a putrid May by practically doubling his walk rate and drastically reducing his strikeout rate. BB:K BB% K% May 9:25 8.00% 22.10% June 18:17 15.10% 14.30% Tatis Jr.’s .370 OBP was far and away the highest among San Diego's everyday players (Bogaerts’ .345 was second-best). His seven steals nearly matched the rest of the roster's total (8). The lack of pop – just two home runs – could concern some, but he has earned the benefit of the doubt in that department. Expect that monthly total to be an aberration at season's end. 1. Manny Machado June Stats: .265/.315/.478, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 13 R, 1 SB What else is there to say? Machado paced the Padres in long balls, RBI, and ISO (.212) last month. He drove in 20.2% (22/109) of San Diego's runs in June and cracked his 350th career home run. Machado has always raked in June. His career batting average (.299), OPS (.860), and wRC+ (131) in June are his highest of any month. Fortunately, his career OPS and wRC+ in both July and August rival his June marks. This means you can count on Machado to keep delivering the goods all summer long as the Padres push their way toward the postseason. View full article