Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability).
Ethan Salas
Salas was signed
by the Padres when he was just 16 years old. Although he was born in Florida, Salas grew up in Venezuela and qualified for international free agency. He was signed with a record-setting $5.6 million signing bonus. Since then, he has had a rollercoaster career. Salas was one of the brightest prospects in baseball before 2025 when a stress reaction forced him to miss most of the year. There was a worry he would never be the same.
Overall Grade: B+
The backstop put those worries to bed quickly. Across 96 minor-league games in 2026, Salas slashed .296/.374/.488 with 10 homers and 31 extra-base hits. He was phenomenal in every way. He was promoted to Triple-A for the first time in his career and raked, hitting .326 with a .949 OPS in 24 games. That production led to speculation that the Padres might call up Salas to make his debut when rosters expanded.
The rumors were true. Salas made his MLB debut to much fanfare as the youngest catcher to debut since Iván Rodríguez in 1991. He flew out to the deepest part of the yard in his first at-bat but went 0-for-4 that day. And the next day. And the next day. Salas started off his big-league career going a whopping 0-for-14. He finally recorded his first career hit on Sept. 13 against the San Francisco Giants, roping a triple.
Salas never looked back after that. In the 10 games following, he hit .400 (10-for-25) with five RBI and 18 total bases. He also became the youngest catcher in MLB history to record a multi-homer game, swatting two against the Colorado Rockies. Salas will likely factor into the Padres’ catching group for 2027, sharing time behind the dish with Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin. However, he could start the season in the minors if San Diego feels he needs some more time to develop.
