Luis Campusano Before Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, the San Diego Padres made several notable roster changes. The most significant move was the optioning of catcher Luis Campusano to Triple-A El Paso. Alongside this, the Padres placed Martín Pérez on the paternity list, which led to the recall of outfielder Brandon Lockridge and left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove from the minors.
This marks the first time Campusano has been demoted to the minors in two years. While he has spent some time in the minors on rehab assignments, this is his first outright demotion since 2022. Last season, Campusano appeared to be establishing himself as a key player for the Padres. Despite a thumb injury limiting his play for most of the year, he posted impressive numbers with a .319 batting average, a .356 on-base percentage, and a .491 slugging percentage over 49 games. His performance led the Padres to trust him as their starting catcher for the season opener, allowing veteran Gary Sánchez to depart.
However, the 25-year-old Campusano has faced challenges this season. He has played a career-high 91 games but has struggled both offensively and defensively. His batting line of .227/.281/.361 through 299 plate appearances has been disappointing. On defense, his performance has also been subpar, with both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference rating his play as slightly below replacement level.
Campusano has caught 670 2/3 innings this season, and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) has him 15 runs below average, the worst among catchers. Statcast has been equally critical of his abilities, noting poor performance in pitch framing, blocking, and throwing. He is tied for the fifth-most passed balls (six) and has seen 36 wild pitches during his tenure behind the plate. In comparison, other catchers with similar numbers of wild pitches have had significantly more innings. Campusano’s rate of throwing out base stealers is also troubling, with only eight of 49 attempted steals being successful, putting him around five percentage points below the league average.
As a result of these struggles, backup catcher Kyle Higashioka has seen more playing time. Acquired from the Yankees as part of the Juan Soto trade, Higashioka is having a standout season, hitting 16 home runs in just 228 plate appearances. Despite a .225 batting average and a .269 on-base percentage, his power numbers have been valuable. Defensively, Higashioka’s performance has been mixed; he has a league-average rate for catching base stealers but has also struggled with nine passed balls in 575 2/3 innings.
San Diego had been using a Campusano-Higashioka duo for most of the season but recently added Elias Díaz, the 2023 All-Star MVP, after his release from the Rockies. Díaz will serve as Higashioka’s backup, indicating a shift in the team’s catching strategy as they aim for a Wild Card spot.
Both Higashioka and Díaz are impending free agents, adding uncertainty to the catcher position for the Padres. The only other catcher on the 40-man roster is Brett Sullivan, who is seen as more of a depth option. With top prospect Ethan Salas still a few years away from major league readiness, the Padres will likely have to make decisions about their catching corps for next season. Campusano’s demotion now gives the Padres flexibility. He has one minor league option remaining, which allows the team to keep him in El Paso for another year without exposing him to waivers, assuming he spends 20 days on optional assignment this season.
Campusano is on track to reach arbitration for the first time. He entered the season with one year and 144 days of service, and even with his demotion, he will earn a full service year for the season. According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, players optioned after Labor Day still receive service time during their assignments. This puts Campusano in a good position to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player, though his modest salary should mitigate any risk of being non-tendered. He remains under team control for another four seasons.
On a different note, Brandon Lockridge is set to make his major league debut. The Padres added him to the 40-man roster in early September, and he had been playing with El Paso. Acquired from the Yankees in the deal involving Enyel De Los Santos, Lockridge has had an impressive season in the minors, hitting .306/.410/.397 in 402 plate appearances and stealing 46 bases while being caught just six times. He is expected to contribute as a pinch-runner and defensive specialist in his MLB debut.