The Padres are making room for Ethan Salas, and they’re doing it with October in mind.
San Diego is set to call up its top prospect on Tuesday, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, after Salas started the 2026 season in Double-A. The 20-year-old is one of the club’s September additions as rosters grow from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1, and his arrival gives the Padres another left-handed option as the calendar flips to the final month.
Acee reported that Salas is expected to work in a platoon role at designated hitter, though it remains unclear whether he’ll catch at all. That part of the equation matters because the Padres already have Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin behind the plate. With Salas added to the mix, San Diego can also lean on Campusano at DH and as a pinch-hitter more often, since the team will now be carrying three catchers.
The message is pretty clear: this move is about the bat.
Salas entered the year unranked on many top 100 prospect lists after an injury-hit 2025 season, but he forced his way back into the conversation fast. In 72 games at Double-A, he hit .286/.361/.417 with seven home runs, 37 RBIs and an .778 OPS. That performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A El Paso, where he looked even more dangerous.
At Triple-A, Salas went 24 games while hitting .326/.410/.539 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and a .949 OPS. He also drew 14 walks against just 10 strikeouts, a strong sign that he wasn’t simply surviving at that level - he was controlling it.
Because he’ll be on the active roster by Sept. 1, Salas will be eligible for the postseason roster. That was part of the appeal for San Diego, which has been weighing the possibility of getting his bat into the mix for a potential October run.
Manager Craig Stammen sounded encouraged when asked about Salas earlier this month and left the door open for a call-up.
“He’s definitely capable of being a major-league player at any point, and that will be a decision for the organization as we go forward,” Stammen said at the time. “Hypothetically, he’s a left-handed bat, so you could play him against right-handed pitching.
And we feel comfortable with him behind the plate defensively against anybody. He proved that in the last couple spring trainings.”
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