Few positions on the San Diego Padres’ roster saw as much turnover and surprise as the catching position.

What was supposed to be the coronation of the young catcher of the future with an uber-prospect rapidly waiting in the wings turned into something completely different.

Instead, a backup from Southern California took the reigns and won the hearts of Padre fans everywhere with gritty play while the prospects faded into the background.

Here’s a breakdown of the Padres’ catchers in 2024.

Kyle Higashioka

Higashioka began the year in the same position as his past few years had been within the Yankees, a backup catcher with a limited offensive profile and a solid glove.

It was his inclusion in the Soto deal that allowed the Padres to let Gary Sanchez walk in free agency. For the first month of the season, the right-handed hitter did little to change that opinion, especially combined with a torrid start by Luis Campusano.

Then May rolled around, and everything changed. Higashioka went on a massive hot streak, hitting more home runs in a few weeks than he had amassed for an entire season. And he kept on hitting. Combined with his great defense, Higashioka took the starting role and never gave it up.

HE’S DONE IT AGAIN ?

BACK-TO-BACK PLAYOFF GAME HOME RUNS FOR KYLE HIGASHIOKA ? pic.twitter.com/kH1DOU2Ovy

— ESPN (@espn) October 3, 2024

He ended the year with a career-high 17 home runs, 45 RBIs, a 1.4 WAR, and a .220 batting average, having played nearly every inning in the playoffs.

Luis Campusano

Luis started the year as the presumed catcher of the present and began the season on a hot streak. However, a bad combination of injuries (again), poor performance, and the May hot streak of Kyle Higashioka led to Campy being pushed into the backup role. Further poor performance throughout the year resulted in the Padres sending him back to El Paso in September.

Worst of all, Campusano saw regression in all facets of his game throughout the season. He couldn’t right the ship in El Paso either, and turned in a poor performance for the final month of the season in the PCL. Now, the team is forced to confront the fact that their young catcher of the future has been unable to take the reins, whether by injury or poor performance, for the past three years.

The Padres have publicly stated they believe in Campusano and that the move to El Paso was designed to get him more playing time. His lack of performance, combined with his injury history, would suggest otherwise.

Elias Diaz

Diaz had been hitting a solid .270 with five home runs while providing good defense for the Rockies.

He was released, and the former all-star MVP was signed to a minor league contract on August 26. He joined the Padres MLB roster on September 1.

Diaz only played in 12 regular season games for the Padres, slashing a .190/.292/.429 line with a single home run. He only received a single at-bat in the division series, striking out against the Dodgers.  The catcher will be 33 going into the 2025 season and has been in the league for nearly a decade. He’s routinely hit in the low to mid-200s with around 10-15 HRs while playing solid defense.

What’s on the Farm?

There is only one real name that comes to mind: Ethan Salas.

The Padres uber prospect remains tantalizing and exciting to baseball pundits and casual fans alike, however it is unlikely he’s the solution for 2025. Players who hit barely .200 in High A Fort Wayne aren’t ready for higher levels. Even if he’s only 18 years old playing at that level. While he showed improvement at the end of the year and is doing so currently in the AFL, there’s little chance the Padres will push him anywhere near the main roster in time for the 2025 season.

The Padres do have another option in Double-A San Antonio in Brandon Valenzuela.

A glove-first switch hitter who spent the year between San Antonio and El Paso. While he gets applause for his defensive skills, including receiving and his arm, he’s a questionable hitter at best. He did not hit a home run all of 2024, including 27 games in the hitter-friendly PCL, and hit a paltry .241 before an MCL injury derailed his season. He’s been unprotected and unselected two years in a row in the Rule-5  draft, a strong sign that few teams think highly of him as a backup catching option.

The Padres do have some additional options in Triple-A, including Brett Sullivan and Kevin Plawecki. Neither has shown enough in multiple seasons, including time in the majors for Sullivan, to warrant a real big-league shot.

Thoughts

This is the position that will require the most attention once free agency begins.

The two catchers who were on the NL Division Series roster are free agents, and the only catchers currently on the roster are Sullivan and Campusano.

Neither of those individuals is a frontline catching option for a playoff-bound team, and even the rosiest of prospect believers don’t imagine Salas coming in 2025. With that said, the Padres must address this position immediately.

Diaz could probably be brought back on a cheap one-year deal and could serve as a good backup option. Campusano has had numerous opportunities to seize the starting job with no real success. The team would be wise to trade him and see if they can get something for him elsewhere. Higashioka is a free agent and will be looking for a multiyear deal at more than the $2.1 million he earned last year And with a weak catching market, he may just find it.

The Padres should consider signing him on a three-year deal.

Loren Casuto

A Native San Diegan, Loren has spent his entire life not only as a fan but an active participant in San Diego’s sports world. In 2006 Loren joined two other die hard Charger fans to create Bolttalk, where Loren was a co-host and regular columnist from 2006 until the Chargers left in 2017. After that he started another podcast, The Grid Podshow, from 2020-2021 with his former co-host and colleague, speaking about the local sports community and popular culture.

When he’s not giving his opinion about San Diego sports, Loren is an adjunct professor at San Diego State and an attorney.