The San Diego Padres have dealt with a lack of hitting from the catcher position this season.

In the off-season, the Padres opted to re-sign Elias Diaz and sign free agent Martin Maldonado instead of bringing back Kyle Higashioka.

Diaz is hitting .239 to start the season with a .314 OBP %. He has hit three home runs and driven in six runs. Maldonado is struggling to start the year, hitting under the Mendoza line ( a .200 batting average). The catcher is hitting a measly .194 with only five RBIs. The Padres’ backstop, only putting together 11 RBIs in 45 games, is not a great look.

In a lineup littered with talent, it is up to the number nine hitter to turn over the lineup. That has consistently not happened for the Friars this year.  However, the Padres do have an in-house solution to their problem at catcher, Luis Campusano.

Or do they?

Luis Campusano started the year in Triple-A El Paso. So far with the El Paso Chihuahuas, Campusano is hitting .333, with a .448 OBP. In El Paso, Campusano has mashed 10 home runs and driven in 28 runs. As stated in EVT’s Down on the Farm, Campusano has been surging lately at the plate.

Last weekend in Las Vegas, Luis Campusano went 6-for-15 with three home runs. That thump and run production is precisely what the major league club needs. Lengthening their current lineup turns the Padres from contenders into favorites. The current catching situation is not major league worthy at the plate. Campusano could bring the bat that the Padres need to lengthen the lineup. But there is something that the catcher is missing on the defensive end that is preventing him from being called up permanently.

He has appeared in at least one major league game in the past six seasons, including this season.

Yet, every season for the past six seasons, he has not managed to stay on the big-league roster. When the Padres made the playoffs last year, the club opted to use Elias Diaz as the backup catcher. Campusano was left off the playoff roster entirely. Last year was his longest stint on the 26-man roster. Luis Campusano appeared in a career-high 91 games in 2024. In that span, he hit .227 but only had a .281 OBP%. The batting average is not terrible, but only getting on base 28% of the time is bad.

Campusano’s defense has been a problem for him for multiple seasons.

One of his biggest flaws is that teams can run on him with ease. Last year, Campusano accrued a 16% caught stealing percentage. According to Baseball Reference, he only threw out eight runners in 49 tries last season. Looking at the 2025 stats on ESPN, Campusano’s caught stealing percentage would put him as the 19th-best catcher in the league this season. With the Padres’ championship aspirations, 19th best is unacceptable. For comparison, Elias Diaz ranks third on the caught stealing percentage leaderboard this year.

The Padres drafted Luis Campusano when he was 18. He is now 26 and cannot maintain his spot on the 26-man roster. With the likes of Ethan Salas developing in the farm, Campusano’s time is limited. The Padres need to either use Campusano as a DH or backup catcher this season. If they cannot find use for him, it should be time to move on from the 26-year-old catcher.

Max Montoya

A Southern California kid from San Clemente, he attended Gonzaga University and obtained a degree in sports management with minors in digital marketing and public relations. Max has been a San Diego sports fan for life.