The San Diego Padres are back to generating a lot of buzz. Most of that is because spring training is here, but there’s also cautious optimism because the Seidler family lawsuit that’s helped block the process of selling the team has been resolved. The attention is back on the field, and while many players are being talked up, catching prospect Ethan Salas hasn’t been one of them.
But the Padres did provide a recent update about Salas’s status, which is unusual given how silent they’ve been about his progress since he hurt his back.
“He’s 19 years old. This is all about the next 10 years,” Padres president of baseball operations," A.J.Preller said in a piece written by Jeff Sanders of Baseball America, “. . . We got to the (Arizona) Fall League, and I think we were hoping that that would be the time he would get started to play.
“I think instead of being 92% sure, let’s be 99% sure . . . We’re listening to our doctors and everything you can because it’s about the next 10 years for him.”
That timeline feels more than a little optimistic given Salas’s history to date. He signed for $5.6 million out of Venezuela back in 2023, and Salas was the top-rated prospect in that class. He quickly hit nine home runs in 48 games at Low-A Lake Elsinore, which prompted the Padres to promote him to the next level, which was High-A Fort Wayne.
Salas was then elevated to Double-A San Antonio, but his promotion was brief, which is understandable given that he was the youngest player in the Texas League at the time. He went back to Fort Wayne, where he continued to display Gold Glove-level defensive skills, but his offensive numbers took a tumble. He slashed just 206/.288/.311 in 2024.
But Salas has been hindered by a stress fracture in his back in the last couple of years, which has led many to give up on him. He hasn’t hit even when he’s supposedly been healthy, but Preller doesn’t see this as a long-term issue.
“We’ve had a couple other players in the past who have had these stress reactions and we’ve gotten them back to performing and it hasn’t been a long-term issue,” Preller said. “I don’t expect it to be for Ethan.”
Meanwhile, backup catcher Luis Campusano continues to rake. He’s nowhere near Salas as a defensive catcher, but he did hit 25 home runs to go with a 1.036 slugging percentage at Triple-A El Paso in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Campusano is the leader in the clubhouse to be one of two catchers on the roster, according to Craig Stammen’s initial comments at spring training, which makes it hard to believe what Preller is selling when it comes to Salas’s future.