Quote from ultratvfan on August 21, 2026, 10:06 am

I just read that the Padres are hesitant to call up Salas, who is hitting very well in the minors, in September because of the looming lockout.

Quote from fenn68 on August 21, 2026, 11:55 am

Quote from ultratvfan on August 21, 2026, 10:06 am

I just read that the Padres are hesitant to call up Salas, who is hitting very well in the minors, in September because of the looming lockout.

That could be part of the reason but if they thought he was the best option for winning in a playoff stretch he would be called up. If not added to the 40 man he will be able to play in AAA at the start of the AAA season during the lockout.

He just is not the best option for the extra man on Sept 1 (that will be Taylor who can cover multiple positions / roles with ML experience). With no proven ML work, he is not going to move ahead of Campusano or Fermin in a playoff run. He is not going to displace Bowen who can play defense OF and pinch run with plus speed.

Basically he would not play enough to make a difference. Others could. Add that read some comments a week ago that he still needs to improve his defense on balls in the dirt and throws.

No problem giving him the start of 2027 in AAA then add him for the start of the ML season.

Side: IF Salas is a "lock" to make the ML roster in 2027 .... do you think the Padres deal either Fermin (better defense / longer control) or Campusano (better hitting / less control) to get some SP help?  Do they go with three catchers with Salas/Campusano rotating at DH ... especially if the don't (can't) sign France?

Quote from Randy Manese on August 21, 2026, 1:55 pm

Agree that bringing up Salas for the remainder of the season is not the best option available to the Padres.  I would want to see him play in the minors during the strike/lockout, and that would give flexibility to what the Padres do after the strike/lockout ends.  Campy would be a good option at 1b or DH, so I'm thinking he would have some consideration over Fermin although the return on Fermin likely would be less than that for Campusano.  If the Padres have a massive turnover in the SP staff, then it lessens the value Fermin has in working with the current SP staff.

Quote from fenn68 on August 21, 2026, 2:39 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on August 21, 2026, 1:55 pm

Agree that bringing up Salas for the remainder of the season is not the best option available to the Padres.  I would want to see him play in the minors during the strike/lockout, and that would give flexibility to what the Padres do after the strike/lockout ends.  Campy would be a good option at 1b or DH, so I'm thinking he would have some consideration over Fermin although the return on Fermin likely would be less than that for Campusano.  If the Padres have a massive turnover in the SP staff, then it lessens the value Fermin has in working with the current SP staff.

A lot of potential moving parts that will impact the other moves. If they can't (or choose not to) sign France will need Campy's bat (DH/1B) ... if the player control (as proposed) is dropped from 6 to 5 years ... Sheets becomes a FA so signing becomes a question and the need for Campy again is there for 1B/DH. Likely will not know any of these moves until after the new CBA is approved ... then action will be fast. Zip (other than Salas) is in the minors ready 2027.

My guess is a hold on all three ... doubt any will get a significant return that benefits 2027 ... at least more than what would be lost. Add that Fermin, Campusano, and Salas do have injury histories ... move one ... then an injury ... and not much to back fill (Duran?). Having catching depth if shooting for the playoffs maybe be more valuable than who I would expect they could get in a return.

Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 21, 2026, 3:40 pm

I said earlier in the year that if Salas kept it up I thought that they would seriously consider calling him up late in the year. With Fermin seriously struggling early I thought they might look at Salas as a potential upgrade. With Fermin playing much better lately the fit seems less obvious. However, I have seen almost all of the prominent Padres writers say that they're seriously considering giving Salas a look.

After giving it some thought I think there is a serious case for adding him. We know AJ was looking to add a left handed bat at the deadline. Since he came up short in that pursuit Salas might be the best option. Sheets has really been struggling in the second half and we know he's dealing with plantar fasciatis. We need more production out of our primary DH option. Adding Salas would allow us to give Campusano more DH time and potentially allow Sheets time to get healthy. As for the roster fit I think there's some redundancy between Bowen, Hays and Taylor. Rengifo's play has also made Song's already small role even smaller. I think you could make a strong case that Salas would bring more to the table than carrying all 3 of the outfielders or Song. I also think Musgrove could potentially be a factor. Salas is the only big league option he's thrown to recently. Maybe keeping that relationship going when he returns helps and gives Salas a pathway to semi regular ABs.

I also saw Acee say that the team isn't worried about any potential ramifications of the lockout with regards to Salas. He said that they believe in his work ethic enough to feel confident that he would stay ready even in the event that it lasts long enough to cost games. He also pointed out how many big time prospects have been added around the league recently as a potential indicator that teams are not that worried about the lockout with regards to major league ready prospects. It's probably also worth noting that Salas would have to be added to the roster by September to be playoff eligible. They may want to add him and get a look at him at the big league level just to keep that option open.

Ideally they would be able to add Salas at a time where he would have a clearer path to playing time. It's not a perfect fit, but in a tight race if they think adding Salas gives them the best roster they have to seriously consider it.

Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 22, 2026, 9:33 am

Just saw Schoolcraft's line. Another disastrous outing in a season full of them. He got me thinking about Dylan Lesko who is still getting torched in A ball with the Rays. Schoolcraft is going to have to make some serious command gains to avoid the same fate.

Quote from fenn68 on August 22, 2026, 10:00 am

Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 22, 2026, 9:33 am

Just saw Schoolcraft's line. Another disastrous outing in a season full of them. He got me thinking about Dylan Lesko who is still getting torched in A ball with the Rays. Schoolcraft is going to have to make some serious command gains to avoid the same fate.

Given his pre-draft scouting reports ... really surprised at his A ball performance.

High grades on multiple pitches ... and not "bad" control ratings. Now his command has been almost non-existent and is also getting hit. Love to hear what is different between the pre-draft scouting and this season ... clearly more than just better A ball competition.

Padres will give him a lot of rope to try to develop into who they thought the drafted ... but at some point the might move him to 1B since some thought he had a lot of potential has a hitter in HS. Not probable but possible.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 22, 2026, 10:07 am

Concur that Schoolcraft has had some disastrous outings, particularly at the beginning of the year and now at the end of the season, but I think there are significant differences between him and Lesko.

Lesko was coming of TJ surgery and it was always going to be a gamble if he'd return to the pitcher he was in his junior year and before.; obviously, he did not and the Padres saw that before trading him.

Schoolcraft was a very good high school position player who also pitched regularly and effectively.  He had much less pitching experience both on the mound and how to prepare for the rigors of full-time pitching.  His command was awful when the season started but got better almost week after week until mid-July, when he started to regress.  All indicators were pointing up until that date, which I attribute to unaccustomed workload over an extended period of time.  He'll probably continue to have an inconsistent end of season (season ends 9/3) before LE goes into the playoffs.  In my opinion, a healthy, mature and still developing Schoolcraft has a much higher potential upside than Lesko.  Don't see him as a top of the rotation starter but eventually might be better than Mayfield or Mendez but not a good as Borthwick will be.  It's a development year for sure.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 22, 2026, 10:51 am

Padres DSL Gold team won today after being blown out yesterday.  That should advance them to the semi-finals but we'll know for sure after all the games are concluded - there are multiple teams with a 2-1 record and only 1 team went 3-0, so that team wraps up one of the 4 spots in the playoffs.

Update:  DSL Padres Gold into semi-finals against DSL Giants Black - both teams got in based on tie-breaking criteria.  Games start on Monday with best of 3 going to finals against either DSL Reds (who had a perfect 3-0 quarterfinal record) or DSL Royals Fortuna.  Just a reminder that there were 53 teams in the DSL this year.