Manager Craig Stammen has made it clear since his first media scrum on the opening of spring camp that he sees Luis Campusano as the San Diego Padres’ No. 2 catcher. More than once, Stammen has cited Campusano’s hard work and success in Triple-A last season. In his media scrum Friday morning, Stammen remarked on Campusano’s haircut while giving a big vote of confidence.
“He cut the dreads, got a new haircut, looks good and I know he’s excited about the opportunity and probably the first time in his career that he has had a little bit of a runway to take control of that job and win it in Spring Training and be the number two when we leave camp.”
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The professional journey that Campusano has traveled has been rocky, to say the least. Coming up to the Padres in 2020 at 21, Campusano played the most in 2024, where he appeared in 91 games with a .227/.281/.361 line and a -0.7 fWAR reflecting below average defense. His eight home runs and 40 RBI did not offset the difficulties he had behind the plate. Then manager, Mike Shildt, appeared to have seen enough and never gave Campusano an opportunity to catch during his 10 game appearances in 2025. All of his 21 at-bats were as a DH and he had no hits and six walks with 11 strikeouts.
Stammen played with Campusano when he was a pitcher in the Padres bullpen. From his first comments after getting the manager job, Stammen has expressed support and belief in Campusano. He indicated from the beginning that the now 27-year-old would get every opportunity to prove he can be a major league player.
When president of baseball operations A.J. Preller acquired Freddy Fermin during the trade deadline last season, it became clear that he would be the front-line catcher going forward. He learned the staff on the fly after coming to the team and was far superior offensively to the aging Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado.
Fermin has never been the number one guy for a team and has never played more than 89 games, which was last season. He started 39 of the Padres 52 games after coming over from the Kansas City Royals and before that his previous high was 72 games as a backup to Salvador Perez.
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“I think to not burn Freddy out, Campy, if he’s the No. 2, he’s got to catch a lot,” Stammen stated. “To get those guys off to a good start in the season, maybe not exactly equal playing time, we’ll see how it shakes out, but Campy will play a lot.”
Stammen also brought up the other catchers working with the Padres pitchers in camp. Both Blake Hunt and Rodolfo Duran are sharing catching duties with Fermin and Campusano. All four, as well as top prospect Ethan Salas, will catch Padres pitchers in spring games. Either Hunt or Duran will likely be Campusano’s backup and if he doesn’t perform well, it is likely one of them will be the No. 2 to begin with.
Another interesting topic to be discussed in the scrum was Stammen’s dislike of dedicated catchers for specific pitchers. “I think every catcher needs to catch every pitcher, and every pitcher needs to throw to every catcher. Now, will there be, ‘Hey, these guys are just way better together?’ That could definitely happen, but you never know. You can’t pigeonhole them, because say one guy gets hurt and then all of a sudden, the backup has to catch those guys too.”
The subject of Matt Waldron was also brought up and Stammen said all catchers will work with him and Campusano has already brought a glove for Waldron. He acknowledged not everyone can catch a knuckleball pitcher so the best one will get the job.
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Campusano caught Dylan Cease’s no-hitter, the second one thrown by a Padre, on July 25, 2024. But his inconsistency behind the plate apparently cost him the trust of his manger. With Stammen as the new leader and Kevin Plawecki as the new catching coach, Campusano is going to get a fresh opportunity to show if he is capable of being a major league catcher. There has been no discussion of giving him time at first base, despite Stammen acknowledging that he played some first base last season. His job is to catch and earn the backup job. If he is not able to do so, he is out of options and will either be traded or have to pass through waivers to be sent to the minor leagues.
To make his job more challenging, the ABS system will be part of the major league game this year and both catchers will probably be primarily responsible for judging balls and strikes in order to challenge pitches. Fortunately, the system has been in place in the minor leagues for years and Campusano has lots of experience. Stammen said they will develop a strategy as spring progresses and games begin.
If instilling confidence and expressing belief in a player can make a difference in if they perform well, Campusano should thrive this spring. Stammen has gone out of his way to publicly support and express faith in the still-young catcher. This is definitely his last and best chance. Let’s hope he takes the opportunity and runs with it.