Padres reportedly set to promote top prospect Ethan Salas to MLB

Ethan Salas could soon become the youngest catcher to appear in a Major League Baseball game since Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez debuted in 1991. Reports from MLB.com journalist AJ Cassavell and others say the San Diego Padres will promote the Venezuelan prospect, although the organization has not confirmed the move.

The timing coincides with the expansion of major-league rosters to 28 players on Sept. 1. Salas turned 20 in June and ranks as the No. 23 prospect in MLB. In Triple-A, he is batting .326 with a .410 on-base percentage and a .539 slugging percentage. He has hit three home runs, six doubles and two triples, and driven in 24 runs.

Salas was born in Kissimmee, Florida, and has Puerto Rican ancestry. The Padres signed him as a Venezuelan player at age 16 in January 2023, giving him a $5.6 million bonus. He was considered the No. 1 player in that year’s international class.

Analysts Sarah Langs and Cassavell said Salas would be 20 years and 91 days old when he appeared. Rodríguez was 19 years and 309 days old in his first MLB game.

Cassavell said San Diego’s need for Salas had increased after Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets went on the injured list. The team later said Rengifo would miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Salas belongs to Águilas del Zulia in Venezuela’s LVBP and played one game there in the 2022-23 season, going hitless in four at-bats.

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The need for Salas is much greater as a bench piece and left-handed bat.