Padres need catchers to provide more at plate

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BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 13: Freddy Fermin (54) of the San Diego Padres looks for a foul ball in front of home plate umpire Brennan Miller during an MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 13, 2026 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Coming into the season the San Diego Padres had a catching tandem of Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano. The thought at the time was Fermin would be a solid defender who could provide a good at-bat but would not be a significant offensive threat. Like years past, the emphasis was on how he could and would handle the pitching staff and anything he could provide offensively would be a bonus. Campusano was going to get a fair shot to be the backup catcher who would not be as solid behind the plate as Fermin but would provide some thump on offense as more of an offense-first type of backstop. Fermin was a good defender but was taking a beating on foul tips hitting him in the facemask and his extremities. He started the season with successful challenges using the ABS system, which slowly declined into challenges that left Padres fans scratching their heads wondering why he thought a pitch was even close to being a strike. He finally took a blow from a bounced pitch in warmups between innings from Yuki Matsui which knocked him out of the game and sent him to the seven-day concussion IL. Campusano had been decent behind the plate and seemed to finally have gotten comfortable at the plate before a foul ball off his foot resulted in a broken toe, sending him to the IL.

Rodolfo Duran and Blake Hunt have come up from the minors and have continued to maintain the status quo behind the plate, but like their early season predecessors, they have not provided much offense. For most of the season the catching position has hit in the bottom third of the San Diego lineup and has looked more like an automatic out than someone who can keep the line moving to get back to the top of the lineup. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball believes this type of production, or lack thereof, is not sustainable for a Padres team that is trying to get to the postseason. They still have Ethan Salas, the team’s top prospect, in the minor leagues but he still needs time to develop before coming to the majors. At least, that is what we are told. If that is the case, Conroy believes San Diego president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller needs to address the position on the trade market.

Padres News:

• The Padres have been playing better baseball and after a disappointing series loss on the road to the Texas Rangers, they returned home and swept the Atlanta Braves in three games. They begin a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park tonight, but they do not care who the opponent is, they just want to keep getting wins.

• Perhaps the answer to the San Diego rotation problems will be clearer in the coming weeks. Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta have each taken steps toward getting back to the mound, which would be a major boost for a rotation that requires openers for two of its five starters.

• Ryan Wideman has been a threat on the basepaths throughout the season for the Fort Wayne TinCaps and he is not showing any signs of slowing down or stopping.

• The thought yesterday was that Jake Cronenworth was going to play in a game for the first time since landing on the IL with concussion-like symptoms following a hit-by-pitch in May, but he was not cleared by doctors.

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune thinks Fernando Tatis Jr. can be just as good at second base as he has been in right field and with Cronenworth being delayed on his rehab assignment, Tatis will get the opportunity to show that.

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com takes a look at where the Padres stand nearly half-way through the season.

• Padres first baseman Ty France got some tips from a veteran shortstop on how to improve his defensive metrics, and he has been a solid defender ever since.

Baseball News:

• For the third time in as many games the Philadelphia Phillies rallied late to come from behind to beat the Washington Nationals.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong helped the Chicago Cubs complete a four-game sweep of the New York Mets.

• The Boston Red Sox returned to Fenway Park after a miserable series against the Colorado Rockies and beat the New York Yankees and one of their top picthers.

• The Athletics used a ninth-innings rally to beat the San Francisco Giants and end their four-game losing streak.

• Junior Caminero has first three-homer game and leads the Tampa Bay Rays to a win.

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