5 important San Diego Padres roster decisions to be made after disappointing season

5) Can Luis Campusano be trusted as the Padres starting catcher?

The catcher position is another one that the Padres need to make some sort of decision on. Austin Nola opened this season as the team's starting catcher, but he was so abysmal to the point where the team sent him down. He won't be in the equation for starting catcher.

Gary Sanchez had himself a nice run in San Diego after a couple of failed stints in San Francisco and with the New York Mets. I'm sure the Padres will express interest in bringing him back, but he's a free agent and can sign anywhere.

Luis Campusano showed a lot of promise down the stretch for San Diego, but he played in just 49 games in 2023. Is that enough to hand him the keys as the team's starting catcher? The 25-year-old obviously has potential, but he's proven next to nothing at the big league level.

The Padres can also look externally if they choose, although the free agent market for catchers this offseason is quite weak. It's a lot of pressure for a 25-year-old with little MLB experience to be tasked with being the number one catcher on a team trying to win the World Series, but Campusano might be the best option San Diego has. The question is if A.J. Preller trusts him enough to give him that spot.