The Padres are hoping to upgrade their offensive production behind the plate as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes. It’ll likely be a thin market for available catchers, which complicates their search.
San Diego has leaned exclusively on Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado behind the plate this year and received virtually no production on the offensive side of things. That veteran duo has combined for a feeble .205/.268/.328 batting line in 296 plate appearances. The resulting 70 wRC+, which indicates they’ve been 30% worse than average at the plate, ranks 27th in the majors.
Unfortunately for the Friars, few of the clear sellers around the game have catching help for sale. The White Sox (Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero), Marlins (Agustin Ramirez) and Rockies (Hunter Goodman) all have young catchers enjoying good seasons — and all are controllable at least five years beyond the current campaign. Pittsburgh’s Joey Bart makes some sense on paper, but he hasn’t been able to replicate last year’s breakout. The A’s would make another good speculative fit, but Rosenthal reports that they have no intention of trading Shea Langeliers. He adds that even even with Drake Baldwin ascending in Atlanta, a Sean Murphy trade over the next four weeks isn’t likely.
There are some bubble teams who could eventually have catching depth to spare, but it’s not yet clear whether any of those teams will sell. The Reds only control Tyler Stephenson through the 2026 campaign, and fellow catcher Jose Trevino’s recent three-year extension (plus a club option) gives them a bit more stability long-term. Similarly, the Twins and Rangers only have Ryan Jeffers and Jonah Heim under club control through 2026, although the latter is having a particularly down season at the plate. If the Orioles wind up selling, old friend Gary Sanchez would be a logical trade chip, as an impending free agent whose bat is heating up in recent weeks.
On top of the likely lack of supply, the Padres will presumably have financial limitations. San Diego was known to be low on spending power late in the offseason, hence the creative structure of Nick Pivetta’s four-year deal and the bargain-bin additions at catcher (Diaz, Maldonado), in left field (Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Gavin Sheets) and for the pitching staff (Kyle Hart). The Padres are well into luxury tax territory — an estimated $263MM worth of obligations, per RosterResource, puts them in the second tier of penalty — so any additions would come with an additional 30% tax on top of their remaining annual salary.
The Padres also have needs in the outfield corners — neither Joe nor Heyward is still with the club — and could use some additional rotation help with Michael King on the shelf and Yu Darvish yet to make his season debut. Juggling all those needs, with potentially limited financial flexibility and a farm system that has been thinned by years of aggressive win-now trades, could prove a tall order.
The fact that San Diego is both reported to covet catching help and using Diaz and Maldonado exclusively also speaks to the manner in which former top prospect Luis Campusano has fallen out of favor in the organization. The 26-year-old is hitting .315/.432/.613 in 224 Triple-A plate appearances but hasn’t gotten much of a look in the majors this year. He’s struggled on both sides of the ball in the past, hitting .241/.295/.374 in 589 major league plate appearances while posting sub-par defensive grades. Campusano feels like a change-of-scenery candidate who could be on the move between now and the end of the month.
Dusty Baker must be furious
Maybe I missed something…what does this have to do with Dusty?
When Martin Maldonado was on the Astros he would start Maldonado over Yainer Diaz even though Diaz was a better hitter. So it’s a joke that Dusty likes Maldonado and that he would be mad that the padres don’t trust Maldonado. He also nixed a trade for Wilson Contreras because he liked Maldonado.
Trashtros fans disrespecting Machete to be expected honestly
Looks like both Yankees and Padres blew it. Should have kept Torrens. Unfortunately, I hate he went to the Mets for nothing.
Not that I wish to elaborate on The San Diego Sports Curse, but I assure you, if my Pads kept Torrens he would have continued to suk.
Torrens was a rule 5 guy who couldn’t hit at all when he was with the Padres, and frankly, still can’t now. He wouldn’t even be an upgrade.
He would definitely be an upgrade for the Padres. Please check the stats before spouting off:
Torrens: 0.8 bWAR/0.9 fWAR and an 84 OPS+ in 53 games/162 PAs.
Diaz: -0.2 bWAR/0.1 fWAR and a 67 OPS+ in 68 games/191 PAs.
Maldonado: -0.2 bWAR/-0.6 fWAR and a 45 OPS+ in 49 games/123 PAs.
Yanks lost him rule 5 draft. He is not tearing it up. But he is a good platoon catcher who has strong arm.
.224/.296/.340 OPS+ of 84
While an upgrade over Diaz/Maldanado/Campusano still a very underwhelming option
All three of the Padres catchers are replacement level or worse. Torrens is on pace for around 2.5 WAR. Don’t just post his slash line because it doesn’t show his defensive contributions. Even just with stolen bases, he’d be a huge improvement:
Maldonado – 36 SB, only 4 CS
Diaz – 22 SB, 9 CS
Torrens – 16 SB, 10 CS
The Torrens that the Padres traded 5 years ago (in a particularly bad trade in hindsight) is not the current version of Torrens. He couldn’t hit for SD and figured that out after the fact
Reese McGuire. Cubs are ready to deal him.
As long as a Walmart’s within view of the stadium, Reece approves.
Underrated comment. .759 OPS and he has a good arm. Roster crunch when Amaya returns.
Harry Ford is blocked by Cal Raleigh in Seattle. He wouldn’t be inexpensive, but I bet he’s available for a (good) young controllable bat.
What about Austin Wells or Ben Rice for Michael King??? Let’s make a deal
Could maybe do a package with ford for Crononworth to free up money for San Diego and Seattle gets a decent bat and fills a spot they’ve had troubles with since giving away Marte to Arizona
We wouldn’t want to take cronenworths contract since it looks really bad right now
Does preller still have a farm system? What could he offer for someone that’s major league ready like ford? I doubt tirso ornealas is enough
Rushman to the Pads when O’s sell
Padres would happily take.. i have no clue how to make that a reality without doing a screw job.
Mets can trade Francisco Alvarez to them for a relief pitcher ( Morejon or Suarez)
I think Alvarez would maybe get you Bryan Hoeing
I’d probably give up Suarez for him.
Zero shot they trade Morejon, cost controlled relief weapon
Plus the only competent lefty in the bullpen
With all due respect Matsui isnt horrible
If they’re looking for a catcher with no extra-base hits, one RBI and a .156 slug in 77 ABs this year, Boston will take the call.
Those stats are real.
He did have a .280 average last year over 126 games, I’m sure they will. They can also take another one batting at .125 this year too.
I’d like an upgrade behind the plate but would prefer one in left field first. I’d be willing to part with Suarez, as part of a package, to get one…
They mostly need a quality RH bat to lengthen and balance the lineup. Could be LF, C, DH even. But more than anything the core players need to start hitting, otherwise it won’t matter much who they add.
Brewski…are you thinking what I’m thinking? Gary Sanchez AND J.D. Martinez…great minds!!!
My mind has wandered in that direction, I can’t lie. But this article says the Pads are broke so…
They’re fine. I just dropped off 10 of the big Hefty trash bags filled with aluminum cans and empty water bottles. I’ll be donating plasma and blood later, in case they want to add a fringe pitcher…
Are we in 2018 right now?
Every article for the last 2 years has said something along those lines. Yet they keep acquiring players.
My sense is that if they’re still in the thick of it at the deadline and they need reinforcements, they’ll be willing to go up to but not exceed the third tax.
You make a lot of money on postseason appearances.
Exactly – if the top 6 were all doing what they are capable of, the 8/9 guys can still be Wade/Johnson and Diaz and all will be ok.
If A’s wont trade shea they have a player in AAA hitting pretty well in Susac
They’d probably only deal MacIver
Would make more sense for them to trade langeliers, then go with susac. A’s need pitching badly and trading hitting would help that
Yes, the A’s definitely need pitching, but I’d rather they trade Rooker than Langelier’s.
As a Sox fan I’d rather have Maldonado out there than Connor Wong.
The Red Sox have Carlos Narvaez. Compare Maldonado’s past 2-3 years compared to Wong’s, and you’d probably want Maldonado over Wong for his veteran presence only, or for other reasons (which I won’t be surprised of)…
SD has a great hitting AAA catcher that cannot throw out a base runner and did a magnificent job making sure he had no blemishes on the hit category when at MLB level
Maybe Campusano for Quero works out for the White Sox if you add a pair of prospects to the deal. Quero and Teel are both starting catchers and if Campusano is bad defensively but has a good bat, he’d make for a nice DH / backup catcher to Teel in Chicago.
Campy’s bat in SD was suspect although seems to be solid in AAA for many years too.
White Sox have a third young catcher in Korey Lee, who has a good arm and a decent bat. He was a first round choice of the Astros out of University of California. Lee had a decent rookie season last year with the Sox. He had an injury early this year and both Quero and Teel passed him on the Sox depth chart. He is catching at Charlotte now. Sox need pitching and outfielders.
More outfielders than pitching but agree nevertheless
San Diegan Korey Lee!
Quero is not a catcher. Campusano and Maldonado are good behind the plate compared to him. He has a very good bat so is a DH/1B type of player.
Red Sox – Trade Connor Wong straight up for Campusano.
Padres say no pretty fast.
Get ready for several of the Sean Murphy hating “Braves fans” to toss Murphy’s hat into the ring. Some will ask for a SS and others will insist that Murphy’s so bad you can have him for nothing.
nah, those fans are in their hiding holes because our last 2 wins have literally been because of Murphy’s HRs
If only we could hybridize hitter Campy with defensive whiz kid Salas (Campusalas) and wave goodbye to backstop woes forever
Valenzuela is looking good with bat at AA. No idea about glove.
Pads should just ride this out. Unless they are willing to part with their top two prospects they are not going to get anything of any consequence in return. Cease, Arraez and Suarez can be moved right now without any serious drop off in overall team performance and possibly get some players that might help out in seasons to come.
Suarez is tricky to move because of his player opt-in for two additional seasons on his contract. MLBTR has been of the mind teams will not have interest in that potential “bad or hurt” downside.
Only 1 top 100 prospect was moved at the deadline last year, yet a lot of trades happened. Hmmm
Connor Wong and Jarren Duran for…?
Connor Wong, Duran, Bueler, & Story for Tatis Jr. win win?
Ken Rosenthal saying anything about the Padres should be ignored. He is a dancing clown for the LA and NY markets.
Keibert Ruiz to the rescue!!
Hear me out
Mariners get Leo DeVries
Padres get Harry Ford, Michael Arroyo, Logan Evans
Mega prospect switch
Or
Cardinals get DeVries Padres
Padres get Quinn Matthews, 1 of Pages or Pozo C, Alec Burleson.
Marlins get DeVries
Padres get Thomas White, Joe Mack, Heriberto Hernandez Javier Sanoja
All players padres are receiving are near MLB ready and could be called up immediately and come with a lot of team control.
Definitely a deal to be had where Padres trade a premium prospect like DeVries and bring back long term help at C, LF, rotation.
Leo is not available.
Can he play LF, C, P all by himself? I hope so.
Mariners are out. I doubt they’d even trade Ford alone for DeVries. His prospect ranking is trending in the wrong direction. He’s currently #99 by baseball America.
DeVries is currently the #7 prospect on BA and #3 on MLB Pipeline.
You must be talking about Ford moving in the wrong direction as a prospect.
The Padres should buy and sell at the trade deadline. Trade Cease,Arraez, Saurez, and a high leverage relief pitcher. The Padres have multiple holes on the roster in addition to catcher. The only player that deserves to be on the bench is Jose Iglesias.
A player with an OPS in the mid-500s and an OPS+ of 56 deserves to be in AAA.
Padres should try to get Higgy back. He loved hitting there, called great games behind the plate, and feasted off Dodger pitching. He hasn’t hit as well at Texas in the tougher park. In fact, he has hit only one homer this year. You guessed it…against the Dodgers!
Probably coincidence, but Garrett Stubbs pulled from the game in the 2nd inning tonight in Lehigh Valley..
Time for a mini rebuild. I don’t think you’ll see Cease, King, Campusano or Suarez in SD after the break. They should try to dump Peralta too. Preller too.
The Padres are a .500 club now. I’ve been a fan since the beginning. They have a nucleus but need too much help to challenge this year.
Actually since May 15 they are 6 games under .500. To put things in some perspective, after game 86 in 2021 they were 14 games over .500. We all know how that turned out. This feels like 2021. In 2022, they had a 3 month stretch where they went 5 games under but made the playoffs. But that was after being 17 games over before the dive. This doesn’t feel like 2022.
Padres are a wild card team today, not a .500 club. No rebuild is coming. Especially the ones you mentioned.
Cease has a 3.41 FIP. He has done his part of the job well. He won’t be moved.
Suarez is leading MLB in saves and has a 2.47 FIP. He has done his job well. His contract because of the opt outs is untradeable.
King is on the IL and their transactions page says he may not be back until September. He is a free agent at seasons end so he is not tradeable.
Try laying off the MMJ.
Braves trade Murphy for Salas and De Vries. Let’s go!
If the Padres are really strapped for cash, how were they in on Devers?
One of the few really bad things Shildt has done is how he uses his catchers. Diaz is a decent backup catcher. Why is he the main starter?
Maldonado had shown he can hit LHP but has mainly played when RHP was on the mound against the Padres. Couple his being used against the wrong pitchers with defense that is near the bottom of the league in framing, blocking, and throwing and you have a recipe for suckage. How bad has Maldonado been behind the plate this season? Campusano, who is known for his poor defense, has better career numbers than Maldanado has this season.
Campusano has shown he can hit for average and power and is leading all of AAA in hitting but only got 18 at bats in 6 weeks in the majors this season. 3 AB a week in the majors for a player with a 1.065 OPS in AAA.
Campusano also managed to walk his way to a .250 OBP which is a higher OBP than Diaz and Maldonado have combined to produce.