The San Diego Padres gutted their farm system at the trade deadline, dealing their 1st-ranked prospect Leo De Vries, along with their 3rd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 16th, and 17th-ranked prospects.
While they dramatically improved the roster, the team is looking to rebuild its farm system, and the return of their new top-ranked prospect, catcher Ethan Salas, would be a great way to begin strengthening the farm system.
Fortunately, in an update from Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres got some positive news on Salas, as the 19-year-old is cleared for baseball activity after missing significant time this season with a back issue.
“Salas has been asymptomatic for about a month, said A.J. Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations.” Sanders writes. “The question is whether the minor league season has enough runway left for Salas to return from the stress reaction in the lower right side of his back this year or if he’ll have to wait to make up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League or in winter ball.”
The teenage catcher prospect has been one of the more noteworthy Padres prospects in recent years. Despite the Padres’ spending spree, he wasn’t moved, potentially thanks to his injury and his struggles at the plate when he did play.
In 32 at-bats across ten games, Salas had a .188 batting average with no home runs, five RBIs, two stolen bases, and a .544 OPS. Across his minor league career, he’s been much better than he was in 2025 so far.
MORE: Padres trade Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek to Royals for a new catcher
Salas has a career batting average of .221 with 13 home runs, 99 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, and a .652 OPS in 698 career at-bats in 187 minor league games between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A.
While he hasn’t been the best in Double-A, at just 19 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to figure things out. Ranked 19th by MLB Pipeline, the new Padres’ top prospect is the only Padres prospect inside the top 100 ranked prospects.
His return to action is a huge step towards Salas continuing to develop, hopefully, into the starting catcher for the Padres in the future. But with Preller in charge, there’s always a chance the Padres deal Salas for an upgrade in the offseason or at the trade deadline.
But, as Sanders points out, the Padres could be extra careful with him and let him take more time off to instead be ready for one of the other leagues when he’s had more time to heal from his back injury.
Regardless of how Preller utilizes Salas, this update on his health is a big one. After being out since April 17th, the Padres finally got some good news on Salas’s potential return to the lineup.
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