Padres Promote Catching Prospect Ethan Salas to MLB

The San Diego Padres are promoting top catching prospect Ethan Salas, a move that will make the 20-year-old the youngest catcher to appear in a Major League Baseball game since Ivan Rodriguez in 1991. The team announced the call-up on September 1, 2026, coinciding with the expansion of MLB rosters for the final month of the regular season. Salas, a left-handed hitting catcher, is widely regarded as the top prospect in the Padres' system and ranks among the top 25 prospects in baseball. His promotion comes as San Diego contends for a playoff spot in a tight National League Wild Card race. The decision provides the team with a valuable left-handed bat off the bench, addressing a need created by recent injuries to outfielders Gavin Sheets and Luis Rengifo. The call-up represents a significant milestone in Salas' rapid development. The Padres signed him in 2023 as a 16-year-old international amateur for a $5.6 million bonus. After an aggressive push to Double-A that proved premature, Salas spent the 2024 season in High-A and lost most of the 2025 campaign to a back injury. He rebounded strongly in 2026, hitting a combined .