CINCINNATI — Ethan Salas was raised to be a major league ballplayer.
What is happening now is in a way merely a manifestation.
But that did not make it any less awesome for the 20-year-old catching prodigy to get the call he has dreamed of for as long as he can remember.
“Crazy feeling,” Salas said late Tuesday night, wearing his Padres uniform and a big smile in the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park.
Salas’ father and two uncles and an older brother played in the minor leagues, and his family has played a large role in training him. Part of that training has obviously been sharpening his communication skills. He is as polished in his answers as almost anyone three months removed from having been a teenager could be. That polish is reflected in answers that are often reserved.
But he did not hide a wide smile when talking about the call he received from Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller informing him of his promotion or sharing in the joy his family felt over the previous 24 hours.
“I thought it was going to be more for me, but it’s more, like, enjoying it with the people you work so hard with every day,” Salas said. “That would be my parents, my friends, my teammates. … Seeing their reaction was really the best part.”
As of Tuesday, Salas was 92 days past his 20th birthday. He is the youngest player in the major leagues and will almost certainly become the fifth-youngest player to ever make his MLB debut for the Padres.
When Salas appears behind the plate, he will be the youngest man to play catcher in an MLB game since Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez did so at 19 for the Rangers.
Salas is expected to provide a left-handed bat off the bench and get some starts as the designated hitter against right-handed pitchers.
“I’m up here just to be me and keep helping the team win,” Salas said. “Just trying to be the same guy every single day, be the same all year, and trying to help where I can. Nothing changes.”
Whatever he does this month has the added importance of happening as the Padres are in a playoff chase.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I mean, no added pressure. Just go out there and do my best to win every single day. I think that’s the mindset everywhere. And I don’t think anything changes. I’m just gonna come up here and try to do my best to help contribute to the team in any little way, so we can get a win.”
Primarily, Salas’ presence allows the Padres to feel more comfortable getting Campusano’s bat in the lineup on days he doesn’t catch.
“I think the left-handed bat is a big deal from Ethan, and then it also allows us to use Campy as a DH too, and then (to) be able to use Freddy, Campy, and Salas. We have three guys, so it doesn’t hurt pinch-hitting for one. You still have two that you can use. So just a little bit more flexible. It’s a very good strategy in September to be able to add that extra roster piece and make it a third catcher, just to be a little bit more dynamic with that spot in the lineup.”
As for how much Salas will play, Stammen was noncommittal.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Go out and get a bunch of hits, it’s hard to keep a guy out of the lineup like that. I think one thing we do know is he’s a very good defensive catcher. He can hold his own back there. The game-calling piece, we’re gonna work with him on that, try to get him up to speed with how we game plan, and then we’ll see what he’s like with the bat, and then we’ll go from there.”
Salas arrived in the dugout and made his way from teammate to teammate to exchange greetings while the Padres batted in the third inning of what became a 4-3 loss to the Reds.
He warmed up Yuki Matsui before the bottom of the seventh inning as Freddy Fermin put on his gear after ending the top of the inning on base. Stammen said Salas would have been the last player off the bench Tuesday because of his inexperience and the long travel day from El Paso, along with pitcher Jhony Brito, who was also called up as MLB teams can expand their roster by two players in September.
Salas joins Luis Campusano, Jackson Merrill, Adrian Morejón, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez as the only players on the major league roster who are truly homegrown, having been drafted or signed by the Padres and played only in their organization.
“It’s always nice to have someone that we signed and brought up through our system,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He’s done very well this year and has earned the opportunity to play in the big leagues. It’s a success story for the entire organization.”
Salas’ service time clock will begin, which theoretically puts him in line to be arbitration-eligible earlier. But there was a good chance that was going to happen anyway, as he is expected to play quite a bit from the start in 2027.
There is also the matter of Salas now being off-limits to the Padres during a lockout that is considered inevitable. That means they cannot talk with him and that he will not be able to play in the minor leagues at the start of next season.
But the Padres believe Salas’ work ethic and support system will have him ready for next season.
The Padres have felt Salas was ready defensively a couple of years ago, maybe even at age 16.
But he has demonstrated at the plate, really for the first season, that he is who the Padres thought he was
He hit .286/.361/.417 in 72 games for Double-A San Antonio and, after being promoted at the end of July, .326 with a .924 OPS in 24 games at Triple-A.
This followed a season almost entirely lost to injury in 2025 and two years of his hitting .216 with a .640 OPS between low-A and Double-A.
“It’s baseball,” Salas said. “You get punched in the face. You find a way to get back up, and you just keep finding the things that keep you going every single day, whether that be trying to win the game or seeing your friends every single day, seeing your teammates, building those relationships. I mean, yeah, you’re gonna go through the ups and downs, and it is never gonna stop. It’s never-ending. It’s a never-ending ride of failures and success. Just keep riding that wave every single day. Try to be the same guy every day and find out what works for me and run with that.”