Ethan Salas Is Ready, But Padres May Not Be Ready For Him

It’s probably safe to say that San Diego Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas had some nervous moments at the trade deadline. Salas, after all, plays for GM A.J. Preller, a man who’s made his reputation by trading prospects at the veritable drop of a hat to get established major leaguers who are ready to contribute. 

But Salas survived the deadline, and he’s more than survived the transition to Triple-A. The catcher is clearly ready to go, but there are big questions whether the Padres are really ready for him with Luis Campusano playing well and Freddy Fermin established in the role of defensive backup. 

Salas is still just 20-years old, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play, according to manager Craig Stammen. 

“He makes it look really easy, which means he’s pretty darn good at it,” Stammen said in a piece written by Dennis Lin of The Athletic. “We went from thin at catching to a really strong catching group.”

There would also be the risk of throwing Salas into a playoff race, as Line noted. But the Padres will still consider calling him up, according to Lin’s sources. 

There’s been a serious about-face going on with all this as well. Salas’s defensive skills have long been considered major-league ready, and the Padres talked him up after signing him. Lately, though, they’ve been soft-pedaling his actual arrival after his struggles with injuries, so it’s a confusing situation. 

Starter Joe Musgrove has seen Salas in spring training, and he’s as aware of his situation as everyone else. 

"I mean, he’s had a really good season,” Musgrove said. “Ultimately, what you want to see is consistent performance and being able to manage the struggles and see where his mind goes and how his attitude changes throughout that. … If you put him in a zone to compete and tell him this is, like, sink-or-swim, I’d like to think he’s a guy that would rise to the occasion.”

There’s really no reason to do that, though, as Preller played diplomat in discussnig the catcher’s situation. 

“It’s just good to see him doing his thing on the baseball field,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said last week. “We know what we have in Ethan, and I think we’re excited to see him here next month in Triple A.”

Stammen sounds torn, however. He knows what the party line is for the Padres, but he also needs players to finish off a playoff race that’s been a massive uphill struggle for the last month or so. 

“He’s definitely capable of being a major-league player at any point, and that will be a decision for the organization as we go forward,” Stammen said. “But I think right now, him having not played a full season for a while, we got to continue to go on that path. And although we’re really excited about him, you know, continue to stay patient, especially with our catching situation in the big leagues right now.”

The manager hedged appropriately when he was asked if Salas could be part of an effective catching trio and chip in by being the left-handed bat the Padres couldn’t quite acquire at the deadline.

“Hypothetically,” Stammen said, “he’s a left-handed bat, so you could play him against right-handed pitching. And we feel comfortable with him behind the plate defensively against anybody. He proved that in the last couple spring trainings.”