Padres need big leap from young catcher to justify their latest signing

The story of Luis Campusano is an interesting one that is still not completed. The 27-year-old catcher is a second-round draft pick who was given high expectations as a top high school catcher. He was the first catcher taken in the draft thanks to his unmistakable power and clear potential as a strong defensive backstop.

With plus-tools of strength and a power bat, Campusano's potential never quite transpired into major league success. He's appeared in at least one MLB game every season since 2020, but just an 85 OPS+ and .294 OBP to show for it.

At the non-tender deadline this season, the San Diego Padres had an opportunity to let Campusano go, but they decided to run it back one more time with a final hope that he can turn into a productive big league catcher. The Padres signed him to a one-year, $900k contract, and all Friars fans can do is hope that he can make that big leap in 2026.

Padres plan on using Luis Campusano in one final leap of faith that he figures it out

Right now, Freddy Fermin will be the starting catcher, but Campusano is apparently in the cards to get playing time.

“He’s going to be in our mix next year, for sure,” Preller said in SDUT article from Jeff Sanders. “I’m hoping his experiences this year are going to help him overall as a player.”

Campusano clearly has the talent. He's broken home run records in Triple-A with El Paso, and he was arguably a top hitter in all of Minor League Baseball. He just hasn't quite unlocked that talent in the majors, and he produced an 0-for-21 season in 2025 with 11 strikeouts in San Diego. Granted, he was sparingly given playing time, but he didn't give the coaching staff much an option to start him.

Good on Campusano for getting another shot. Big-time decision-makers clearly believe in him, so maybe we should have a vote of confidence there. The Padres should still have a backup plan in case Campusano struggles again, but besides that, we'd welcome a breakout splash from a former top prospect.