Ethan Salas is still only 20 years and 106 days old as of Tuesday, and that alone puts him on the edge of a strange little corner of baseball history. If he catches in the postseason for the Padres, he’d become just the third player ever to do it before turning 21.
The list is tiny for a reason. Only Joe Garagiola in 1946 and Bob Didier in 1969 have caught in the playoffs at that age. Salas would be the first 20-year-old to do it this century.
The Padres brought him up from Triple-A El Paso when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, and the move made sense. Salas had already been part of the Futures Game in 2024 and 2026, and in 24 games with El Paso he hit .326/.410/.539 with 24 RBIs. The Pacific Coast League can help numbers along, but San Diego had every reason to take a closer look once the extra roster spot opened.
His first taste of the majors has been rough at the plate. Through Monday, Salas was 1-for-16 with a triple, six strikeouts and no walks in his first seven big league games. Adjusting to major league pitching may be the biggest obstacle if the Padres want him catching in October.
There’s also the matter of Luis Campusano, who has turned into a real lineup problem in the best way for San Diego. After hitting .240/.294/.372 across parts of six MLB seasons from 2020-25, he’s broken out in 2026 and was slashing .268/.366/.438 with a 126 OPS+ through Monday.
That makes it hard to imagine the Padres simply sitting Campusano’s bat in a postseason series. If they need another option behind the plate, Freddy Fermin gives them a reliable glove, with strong work as a thrower, framer and blocker.
Salas has long been valued for his defense as much as his bat in the minors, and that could matter in a short wild-card series. In a best-of-three format, San Diego may not need as many pitchers to get through the round, which opens the door to using Salas and Fermin as the catching duo while Campusano moves to DH.
That’s already been part of the recent setup. In the two weeks since Salas arrived, Campusano has started more games at DH (11) than at catcher (four).
“My defense … it never goes away for me,” Salas said. “Whether I’m hitting or not, it’s our job as catchers to be dialed in back there and 100% locked in.
So I think that’s something that always, always goes with me everywhere. The hitting will come along."
Manager Craig Stammen has also made clear the club wants to get Salas on the field. “We’re looking for Ethan to get some playing time,” Stammen said recently. “We think he’s a really good player, and he can help us down the stretch and hopefully into the playoffs."
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