The Padres are bringing up their top-ranked catching prospect Ethan Salas ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds as rosters expand to 28 players for the final month of the season, according to reporting from The San Diego Union-Tribune and MLB.com. At 20 years and 92 days old, Salas immediately becomes the youngest active player in the big leagues. If he makes a defensive appearance behind the plate, he will also claim the distinction of being the youngest player to catch in an MLB game since Iván Rodríguez debuted as a 19-year-old in 1991.
The organization’s top prospect will join the team here before the second game of their series against the Reds as one of the two players added at the start of September. Salas was already squarely on the Padres’ radar for a September callup. Sources indicated that those injuries made it clear Salas was the best fit for the current roster. The club has not yet confirmed the move.
Padres To Promote Ethan Salas
Triple-A Surge Earns Prospect Quick Promotion
The callup marks the culmination of a powerful rebound season for the left-handed hitter. Signed out of Latin America as a marquee international prospect in 2023 with a $5.6MM bonus, Salas was put on an aggressive fast track by the Padres organization, reaching Double-A within months of his 17th birthday. Although he was born in Florida, Salas spent part of his childhood in Venezuela and signed out of Latin America as an amateur. He had played one game in the Venezuelan Winter League before signing with the Padres, a rare feat for a player who was then 16 years old. That hinted at how polished the lefty-hitting Salas was on both sides of the ball. That ambitious timeline hit roadblocks during his age-18 campaign in 2024 when he batted .206 with four home runs across 111 games in High-A, followed by a back injury—specifically a stress reaction in his back—that wiped out almost the entire 2025 season.
That slightly dimmed his prospect stock, though it ironically might’ve been the best outcome for the Padres in the long run. The back injury all but ensured that Salas wouldn’t be moved at the ’25 deadline. San Diego wound up giving up top shortstop prospect Leo De Vries to acquire Mason Miller last summer and sent Salas back to Double-A to open 2026.
Healthy again to open 2026, Salas reestablished his prospect stock by hitting .286 with a .361 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage across 72 contests in Double-A to earn a bump to Triple-A El Paso at the end of July. That performance excelled over 24 games. According to MLB.com, Salas batted .326 with a .949 OPS during his month at Triple-A, displaying more walks than strikeouts and showing the advanced swing decisions and quality of contact that originally made him the top-rated talent in his international signing class.
Ethan Salas being called up to Padres (source)
Roster Impact and Playing Time in San Diego
San Diego is making a clear show of faith by adding the young catcher directly into the thick of a tight Wild Card race. Evaluators across the sport, including writers for Baseball America, FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, and Keith Law of The Athletic, uniformly rank Salas as the game’s top catching prospect and among the top 15 minor league talents overall, while MLB Pipeline slots Salas 23rd overall and fourth among backstops. He’s unanimously viewed as the marquee talent in an otherwise unimpressive Padres’ system.
While manager Craig Stammen is expected to continue relying primarily on the veteran catching tandem of Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin—who have been mostly solid in the second half, though both players have slumped in the last couple weeks—Salas will provide valuable flexibility off the bench. MLB.com reports that Salas can serve as a left-handed weapon off the bench or fill a platoon role at designated hitter, potentially pairing with Austin Hays. The presence of a third catcher also gives the Padres room to deploy Campusano in a DH role against left-handed pitching while Salas handles defensive cover. Salas won’t take over regular catching duties, but he is expected to see time—and probably even a few starts—behind the plate.
Padres to call up 20-year-old top prospect Ethan Salas
Salas adds a left-handed bat to an offense that lost Gavin Sheets and the switch-hitting Luis Rengifo over the weekend. That’d provide some balance off a heavily right-handed bench even if Salas breaks in as the third catcher.
Long-Term Value and Control for the Friars
Beyond the immediate pennant race push, the decision carries significant implications for the franchise’s future. Because he is joining the major league club before the end of the season, Salas will remain rookie-eligible for the 2027 campaign. If he breaks camp with the team next spring and meets specific award criteria like Rookie of the Year or a top-three MVP finish within his first three seasons, the Padres could secure a future draft pick via the Prospect Promotion Incentive.
The move also places Salas under club control for at least six full seasons, with arbitration eligibility delayed until the 2029-30 offseason at the earliest. To clear space on the 40-man roster for the young prospect, the Friars will need to select his contract but can easily accommodate him by transferring the injured Luis Rengifo to the 60-day injured list, as Rengifo is slated for ACL surgery. They’ll also be able to bring up a 14th pitcher for September.
Related reading