Salas (back) is fully healthy after sitting out the Arizona Fall League, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. The Padres are debating whether to send him to winter ball or to have him focus on preparing for spring training. "He's doing well," GM A.J. Preller said. "He's swinging the bat and looking 100 percent."
Salas managed just 10 games at Double-A San Antonio this season, hitting a paltry .188/.325/.219 in 41 plate appearances. While his prospect star has dimmed, it's far from expired. He turns 20 next June and will still be young for Double-A if he indeed begins there in 2026.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Will not play in AFL
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Salas (back) is no longer slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas missed most of the 2025 season with a stress reaction in his lower back. It does not appear he has suffered a setback, but the Padres have decided to give the young catcher more time to heal rather than pushing him to play in the AFL. It's unclear whether Salas might play winter ball later this offseason instead.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Cleared for baseball activities
Rotowire
Salas (back) was recently cleared to resume baseball activities at the Padres' spring training complex and will be one of the San Diego prospects who is set to participate in the Arizona Fall League, which begins Oct. 6., MLB.com reports.
Salas remains on Double-A San Antonio's 60-day injured list and doesn't appear in line to return to action over the final week of the Texas League season, but the young backstop looks like he could be ready to play at some point during the AFL, which runs through mid-November. Even if Salas hasn't progressed enough in his recovery from a lower back stress reaction to see action by the end of AFL play, he'll likely take part in winter ball to make up for the at-bats he lost out on this season. Salas' last appearance with San Antonio came back on April 17.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Cleared for baseball activity
Rotowire
Salas (back) has been cleared for baseball activities, but he may not be ready for game action before the end of the minor-league season, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas hasn't played in a game since April 17, so he'll need a lengthy ramp-up period and the Padres won't rush him back from this stress fracture in his back that was slower to heal than anticipated. Regardless of whether Salas makes it back before the end of the minor-league season, he'll likely play either fall or winter ball to make up for what has essentially been a lost season.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Slow to heal from back injury
Rotowire
Salas is healing from a stress fracture in his back slower than the Padres anticipated, and he remains without an official timeline for a return to game action, Kyle Glaser of the Foul Territory Network reports.
According to Padres team officials, Salas hasn't experienced any setbacks in his recovery from the injury, which initially forced him to Double-A San Antonio's 7-day injured list April 26. The 19-year-old backstop has been able to stay in shape by catching from a pitching machine and taking part in individual workouts, but he's not yet been cleared for rotational work. According to Glaser, Salas is unlikely to play again this season, but the Padres aren't officially closing the door on him being activated if he's able to make major strides in his recovery over the next few weeks.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller said Monday that Salas has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back and is expected to remain out until July, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Salas was placed on Double-A San Antonio's 7-day injured list at the beginning of May due to back spasms, but after further evaluation, the young catcher has been revealed to be dealing with a more significant injury. Cassavell notes that the team is hopeful Salas will be ready to resume playing in about two months after treating the back injury with rest and rehab.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Managing back injury in minors
Rotowire
Double-A San Antonio placed Salas on its 7-day injured list Saturday due to back spasms, MLB.com reports.
The Padres have deemed Salas' absence from game action as precautionary, and the 18-year-old has been swinging and throwing at the team's spring complex, so the back issue doesn't appear to be serious. Salas began the season with San Antonio and slashed .188/.325/.219 with five RBI, five runs, two stolen bases and a 6:5 BB:K over 41 plate appearances before being shelved.
The Padres reassigned Salas to minor-league camp Thursday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Salas, 18, was a spring training invitee but always destined to return to the minors to begin the 2025 season. He's a gifted defensive catcher, but the top prospect slashed only .206/.288/.311 at High-A Fort Wayne in 2024, so he'll be looking to take a step forward offensively this season.
Salas is slashing .260/.302/.364 with eight doubles, zero home runs and a 16:5 K:BB over his last 20 games for High-A Fort Wayne.
Salas has a .206 average, .599 OPS and 75 wRC+ in 111 games for the Tin Caps, so this recent stretch qualifies as him heating up. The 18-year-old catcher makes for a tough evaluation, as he has elite pedigree and is extremely young for his level, yet he has produced at well below league-average levels ever since he was promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore in August of 2023.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Beginning season in High-A ball
Rotowire
Salas has gone 3-for-9 with two RBI and a stolen base through two games while opening the minor-league season with High-A Fort Wayne.
Salas emerged as arguably the top catching prospect in baseball last season after reaching Double-A as a 17-year-old. He played in just nine games at that level, though, and struggled with a 5-for-28 showing at the plate, so it's not surprising that the Padres elected to have him open 2024 back at the High-A level. That said, it shouldn't take long for Salas to be promoted if he performs well, and he's already incredibly advanced both offensively and defensively given his age.
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Padres' Ethan Salas: Re-assigned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Salas was re-assigned to minor-league camp by the Padres on Sunday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Just being invited to big-league camp as a 17-year-old was an accomplishment in and of itself for Salas, who went 2-for-7 at the plate during his limited Cactus League opportunities. He's slated to begin the season at Double-A San Antonio after finishing there in 2023. The top prospect slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs over 66 games across three levels last season.
The Padres announced Friday that Salas received an invitation to major-league spring training.
Salas reached Double-A San Antonio last season as a 17-year-old and will now take part in his first major-league camp at the same age. One of the top prospects in baseball, Salas slashed .248/.331/.421 with nine home runs over 66 games across three levels in 2023 while showing superb defense at catcher. Salas probably won't reach the big leagues for another year or two, but there will be plenty of eyes on the wunderkind this spring.
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