San Diego Padres catcher Rodolfo Durán signed with the Friars in January of 2025 as a minor league free agent after playing in the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals organizations after signing with the Phillies in 2014.
An international free agent signing at the age of 16 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Durán was with the Phillies until November of 2021. Granted minor-league free agency after spending his entire time in the Phillies minor league system, Durán signed
with the Yankees in December of 2021.
After two seasons in the Yankees minor leagues, Durán signed a minor-league free-agent deal with the Kansas City Royals. That resulted in a one-season stay, and he was again a free agent after the 2024 season.
The Padres assigned the catcher to the El Paso Chihuahuas after his first Spring Training in Padres camp. After adjusting to a new organization, Durán split time behind the dish with Luis Campusano. In 2025, Durán played in 86 games and hit .288/.344/.503 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI. After one year in the Padres system, Durán re-signed with the Friars for the 2026 season.
In his daily newsletter, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, reported that Durán chose to re-sign with the Padres because he got more opportunities. “They gave me the opportunity. Last year I played a lot. As a free agent, as a minor leaguer, you want to play and you want to keep showing them what you got and to get that chance.”
In spring of 2026, he was invited to major league spring camp and played in 16 games with a .250/.419/.667 line, hitting three home runs with eight RBI. He was sent to the Chihuahuas roster after an impressive spring.
The catcher the Padres signed to be their third catcher, Blake Hunt, was hurt early in camp and Durán quickly stepped forward as the third catcher behind Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano. In the first 23 games he played in 2026 for the Chihuahuas, Durán hit .238/.356/.429 with four home runs and 20 RBI.
Elite defense
In his first season with El Paso, Durán used his cannon of an arm to throw out 20 of the 71 runners attempting to steal. With a pop time of 1.88, Durán is in the elite level of catchers. After rising to the third catcher position in the organization, Durán spoke with John Conniff of MadFriars.com about what has improved in his game since coming to the Padres.
“My consistency has become much better, especially with my defense. That had been the biggest thing I needed to work on coming here.”
Durán also spoke about his leadership role and wanting to improve his work with the pitchers, giving them confidence that he is there for them. “I want them to know that I got them.”
The Padres had a scare with primary catcher Freddy Fermin earlier in the season when he was hit by foul balls behind the plate and looked like he might miss time. The Padres brought Durán in for the taxi squad in case he was needed. Fermin did not go on the IL and Durán returned to the Chihuahuas. But when Luis Campusano fouled a ball off his foot in early May, Durán finally got his chance. Campusano went on the injured list on May 7 with a fractured big toe. Durán made his debut that night, catching Michael King versus the St. Louis Cardinals.
He got his first major league hit, a home run, against Seattle on May 16. He almost had two home runs in that game but was robbed at the center field wall by Julio Rodriguez, who made a leaping grab. Yesterday, against the Athletics, Durán was the catcher for Walker Buehler and got his second major league hit. He also had two walks, bringing his total to three free passes.
Durán does not have an impressive slash line with the Padres. He is hitting .188 with a .611 OPS but has a 41.7% caught stealing rate behind the plate. He has been particularly proficient with the ABS system, challenging nine pitches and winning eight of those challenges.
Both King and Buehler have credited him with helping them battle through difficult starts and his manager, Craig Stammen, gave him credit for the Padres only win against the Dodgers in their recent series.
“(That) was definitely a Rodolfo Durán game. If he’d have got that line drive to left field to fall in, he couldn’t have had a better game, honestly. Threw a couple guys out, caught a shutout. We feel really comfortable with him behind the plate. When we got him last year as a six-year free agent, we didn’t know a ton about him, and he just proved that he’s everything we needed and wanted from a guy that could be our third catcher.”
Can Durán be more than a third catcher?
When Campusano, who still has not started any rehab work, returns, the Padres will have a decision to make. Front-line starter Fermin has had an abysmal start to the season. His hitting line of .149/.240/.195 is the worst of active, full-time players. He has 13 hits with four doubles and three RBI in 87 at-bats. He has taken multiple punishing foul balls behind the plate in his starts and has had a recent poor performance with ABS challenges.
Fermin has options and could use a break to reset his swing, and some time with ABS in the minor leagues might not be a bad option. It seems unlikely that the organization will keep an 11-year minor league catcher on the roster and send an experienced major-league catcher to the minors. But it is shown that Durán is more than capable and has more power potential than Fermin.
The defense and offense shouldn’t be any worse, and the offense could be better, with Durán getting a shot with the Padres and Fermin taking a break to work on some skills. It would undoubtedly be a short-term move but giving Durán more time to show what he can do would not be the worst thing.
