Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. carries quiet offense, Ethan Salas plan revealed, Jhony Brito recalled

Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the Padres a lead, a late pulse and a slick defensive play while starting at second base. But he couldn’t give them the win. He accounted for two of San Diego’s three runs in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, taking some shine off a significant day that also featured Ethan Salas’ call-up and Jhony Brito’s return. The Padres have more options now. Tuesday showed how much more production they still need..

That result should keep San Diego from getting too drunk on the excitement. The Padres added two reinforcements, but Tatis’ one-man power show also exposed how narrow this team’s margin for error remains.

Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the Padres everything but the final run

Tatis went 2-for-5 with two solo homers while making his latest position change look almost routine. His two blasts were the 18th and 19th home runs of the season. He also made a ridiculous sliding backhanded stop at second base because apparently supplying nearly the entire offense wasn’t enough work for one night.

We can praise the showing all we want, but the Padres needed more from the rest of the lineup. 

Tatis accounting for two of the Padres’ three runs felt less like a one-night imbalance and more like the latest warning from an offense that has gone quiet too often. San Diego scored only five runs during its recent three-game series against Pittsburgh, including a 1-0 loss that wasted seven scoreless innings from Michael King. With Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets now sidelined, an already streaky lineup has lost even more depth. Tatis can provide the jolt. The rest of the order cannot continue disappearing around him.

Ethan Salas earned this call-up, so the Padres need to use him

Ethan Salas is now in the majors at 20-years-old. The Friars selected the contract of their top prospect after he slashed .296/.374/.448 with 10 home runs and 17 stolen bases across Double-A and Triple-A. Salas was even better after reaching El Paso, producing a .326/.410/.539 line over 24 games. He arrives as MLB’s youngest active player and would become the youngest catcher to appear in a major league game since Iván Rodríguez in 1991 once he gets behind the plate.

The immediate role will be smaller than the hype that comes with his name. Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin remain the primary catchers, leaving Salas to catch occasionally, receive at-bats at designated hitter and serve as a left-handed weapon off the bench.

Jhony Brito gives the Padres some badly needed bullpen length

Jhony Brito will not generate the same excitement as Salas. His role could become just as impactful over September. The right-hander returns after posting a 2.98 ERA across 42 1/3 innings with El Paso, working primarily as a starter. That workload makes him an obvious candidate to absorb multiple innings when a starter exits early or the bullpen needs a reset.

The Padres still need the wins. Tuesday’s loss made sure nobody could miss that part.

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