The San Diego Padres have had 23 catchers since 2016 (thanks to Clark Fahrenthold on The Brown and Gold Standard podcast). Austin Hedges (2015-2019) was supposed to be the organization’s stalwart for years to come; that didn’t work out. Since then, the front office has put all its eggs in the Luis Campusano basket. That plan has been thwarted by a combination of development issues with the player and the attitudes of the previous two managers.
In 2026, manager Craig Stammen made it clear in the offseason,
as soon as he was hired, that Campusano had a role on the team. It seems clear that Stammen, after pitching to Campusano while a Padres bullpen arm, was willing to follow general manager A.J. Preller’s desire to give Campusano a legitimate chance. There appeared to be no effort to acquire a backup catcher for starter Freddy Fermin before Spring Training began.
With that said, it isn’t clear that the Padres want Campusano to be their front-line starter either. The defense of Fermin, rated significantly better than Campusano, is preferred. He is a veteran catcher who caught behind a probable future Hall of Famer in Salvador Perez with Kansas City.
Fermin has never been a primary catcher, and since coming into the league in 2022, Fermin has not played more than 111 games (2024) and has a .257 batting average. His defensive metrics are above average, with his pop times and caught stealing rates above 75 percentile.
As the Baseball Savant graph shows, all his offensive metrics rate below average, and that has been consistent since his debut in the big leagues.
So far in 2026, Fermin has started in 24 of the 41 games played, with eight appearances off the bench. He is hitting .169/.265/.490 with no home runs and three RBI. This is par for the course on this team currently, with most of the hitters under their expected performance numbers.
Fermin’s performance is similar to the catchers on the roster in 2025, and Fermin was acquired at the trade deadline last season for that reason. The tandem of Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado ended up hitting .204 for the Padres in 2025.
About Luis Campusano
Campusano would be a downgrade defensively; his framing skills have always been subpar, though his ABS skills are excellent (64%). While on the injured list with a broken toe, Campusano has been temporarily replaced on the roster by career minor league catcher Rodolfo Durán.
Getting a few days in the major leagues, after toiling in the minors for 11 seasons, is a great highlight for him, but his tenure will not be long-term.
When Campusano returns, Fermin would be well served with more time off. Starter Lucas Giolito is joining the rotation soon and could be a good match for Campusano.
Michael King has commented on how well Campusano has caught him this season. A veteran pitcher like Walker Buehler has also complimented his work. Giolito could be another good choice, and that would make Campusano the primary catcher for three of the five starters. Fermin continuing to catch Randy Vasquez and Griffin Canning, as well as being a defensive replacement in games, could be the best strategy going forward.
Could we see Ethan Salas?
In the back of Padres fans’ minds should be the thought that we could see Ethan Salas this season. When the year began, the idea of Salas coming to the Padres in 2026 was highly unlikely. He missed an entire season due to injury in 2025 and he had not been advancing as hoped before the injury occurred.
The first quarter of the season has shown that Salas is the player many hoped he would be; at least he is showing he is capable of being that player. If he can keep up a consistent pace and show the power that has appeared in his game this year, there is no reason to think that a second-half call-up is out of the question.
Salas is 19 years old and will be 20 on June 1. In San Antonio, the Padres Double-A affiliate, he has been catching, and serving as DH when not catching. He has a .314 average, a .388 OBP, and a .653 slug. He leads all Double-A catchers in batting average and is sixth in the Texas League in average, OPS, and slug. In 29 games, he has six homers and 20 RBI.
The 2025 season was not lost for Salas, despite being on the IL for most of the year. He worked on his size and strength while studying video and working with the hitting coaches to evaluate and adjust his swing. It appears he took all that work onto the field with him in 2026.
Assuming Preller is as determined to promote Salas as he was with Campusano, the organization should have two homegrown catchers with the team going forward.
Freddy Fermin needs to be better, but if he struggles deep into the season, there might be an option that will give the Friar Faithful a glimpse into the future.
