The Padres recently shut down catcher Blake Hunt due to an oblique injury, as reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hunt’s exact timeline for return to action isn’t currently known, but he figures to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The 27-year-old was a second-round pick by the Padres back in 2017 but was traded to the Rays as part of the Blake Snell deal while he was still in A-ball. In the years since then, Hunt has bounced between the Rays, Orioles, and Mariners organizations. He was called up to the majors for the first time in July of 2024 but has never made an appearance in the big leagues. In 2025, he performed quite well for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, slashing .272/.368/.452 (108 wRC+) with eight homers and 15 doubles in just 68 games. Following the 2025 season, Hunt elected minor league free agency and returned to the organization that drafted him on a minor league pact.
Entering Spring Training, Hunt was a non-roster invitee who appeared likely to serve as Luis Campusano‘s primary competition in camp this year. Hunt has long been on the periphery of the majors at this point and is perhaps overdue for a shot at the highest level, and while the out-of-options Campusano entered Spring Training with the advantage of having a 40-man roster spot already, it would’ve been understandable for him to face some pressure head of Opening Day. The 27-year-old appeared in just ten games at the big league level last year and went hitless in those 27 plate appearances. While he did manage to hit an extremely impressive .336/.451/.595 (149 wRC+) at Triple-A last year, he’s a career 88 wRC+ hitter in the majors with lackluster defensive marks behind the plate and has slashed just .211/.276/.336 (75 wRC+) with -0.8 fWAR and -1.1 bWAR when looking at just the last two years.
That lack of production makes it hard to trust Campusano headed into 2026, and his 2-for-12 showing during camp so far hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. Freddy Fermin figures to serve as San Diego’s primary catcher entering the year, but Hunt’s injury could wind up giving Campusano more of a leash as the team’s primary backup. Ethan Salas doesn’t figure to be ready for the majors anytime soon, and the only other catcher in camp at the moment with experience even at Triple-A is 28-year-old Rodolfo Duran. If Hunt’s injury is severe enough to sideline him long-term, it’s plausible that the Padres could look to add some external catching depth to provide further insurance behind their current tandem. Veterans Tom Murphy and Christian Vazquez are still available in free agency, but it’s also possible that veterans on minor league deals in other camps could opt out as Opening Day approaches or that catching depth on the fringes of another organization’s roster could be made available in a minor trade if the Padres were sufficiently motivated to get a deal done.
Ah, yes, the famous Blake-for-Blake deal…
Henry Davis is the perfect change of scenery candidate they need on their team.
The Pirates gave Davis 283 PA and he hit .167 with a 42 OPS+. Campusano walked at a higher average than that last season.
There will be quite a few vets on minor league deals available at OD and I suspect they will sign one as a depth piece then.
We all know his brother Mike..
Dammit…
Luis Campusano (2017 Draft competitive balance pick #39)/
His best year (injury free) has been 2023 season
with some very good stats:
49 games 163 ABs 7 HRs 30 RBIs 319BA 847OPS.
For some reason(injuries included) and also defense that he must work hard to improve,
Campusano has not clicked/not been given extended playing time in San Diego to have his “break out season”.
Padres are pushing hard to win the pennant and compete for a World Series Championship.
Their pitching roster has had a lot of turnover with trades and FA signings over the years too. So, perhaps, San Diego may not be the place where Campusano “breaks out” and becomes a starting MLB catcher.
If the Padres don’t see Campusano as part of their future major league team, at least as a backup catcher, then maybe the best thing for Campusano and the Padres would be a “change of scenery” trade.
Twins? White Sox?Angels? Nationals? Cardinals? Pirates? Rockies?
To be fair to Campusano,
Campusano may need to go somewhere where he can get at least 300+ ABs and at least 50% of the starts at catcher so he can work hard on his game and potentially “break out” as a major league catcher on both sides of the ball.
Campusano has nothing left to prove @ AAA where he was tearing the cover off the ball offensively.
Defensively, he could use more work and one of those teams may be able to work with him and find themselves a starting catcher or a “shared 50%” of the reps as Catcher and hitter.
Good luck to him!
Or maybe Campusano gets enough ABs on the Padres rotating at catcher and DH to become an established major league catcher this year?!
Catchers can be “late bloomers”.
Carson Kelly bounced around the majors and minors for years
until he found a home and produced with the Cubs.
Campusano could be one of those “late bloomers” in MLB.
Kelly had multiple quality years in AZ after being blocked in STL. One of the big pieces from the Goldy trade was Carson Kelly (Luke Weaver too)
His brother Mike is very upset
Yep, I heard the receptionist asking for him over the public address system.
Deeds, do you know that its possible to check other sources other than Kevin Acee before you post an article? They were talking about this on MLB Network on Saturday.
Another exceedingly questionable opinion from you using tiny sample sizes. As a fan and supposed writer, you do understand that small sample sizes like 27 PA mean absolutely nothing, right? 12 AB in spring training mean even less. Wade Boggs had an 0 for 11 stretch in spring training in 1981. It would have been 0 for 12, but that is a tale for another day. He turned out OK.
Campusano’s AAA season was not just extremely impressive, it was the best among players with 405 PA, a qualifying number of PA for that level, in both AAA leagues last season. You were so quick to condemn him with his extremely small MLB and spring training sample sizes that you failed to mention that he was the very best hitter in AAA last season.
After seeing him play multiple times when the Chihuahuas came to town, I was hoping the team I root for would trade for him as a backup. Our backup catcher plays great defense but couldn’t consistently get hits if you placed it on a tee.
How’s this for a sample size? In 592 PAs since his debut, Campusano has an OPS+ of 85 and a -22 DRS in 1149 innings behind the plate which culminates into a -0.7 bWAR. He is simply not a MLB quality catcher.
How is this for a sample size, in his most recent season and only one not interrupted by major injuries to his thumb which impacts both hitting and catching, Campusano had a 149 wRC+ in AAA and was the best hitter in the entirety of that level of baseball.
Your pronouncement is total BS. Campusano had surgery in 2023 on his thumb, another injury to his thumb on May 11th that he tried to play through into late June in 2024, and then a manager that refused to play him even after the GM called him up in 2025 and with a catching tandem that was hitting at the Mendoza line and had a combined 62 OPS+.
Only in 2 seasons since he was first called up in 2020 has he had consistent playing time in the majors and in both he was injured for extended periods. In those 2 seasons he had 473 PA, a 101 wRC+, and .718 OPS.
I wonder which pile reliever the Mariners could pry from the Padres in exchange for Knizner.
Lets see, give up something of value to take a chance on a guy that you know cannot play defense (-26 FRV) or hit (68 wRC+) in Knizner
or
take a chance on giving consistent at bats to the kid that was the best hitter in all of AAA in Campusano.
“Best hitter in all of AAA”
Yeah, in known launching pad El Paso.
I take it you really don’t know what stats like WRC+ and OPS+ mean? That is ok. You can still Google it. Its not too late to learn something tonight.
B Lakey? B Lakey?
You mean Blake?