One, the Padres\u2019 No. 1 strength \u2014 run prevention \u2014 owes in part to catchers El\u00edas D\u00edaz and Martin Maldonado.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re both baseball-smart, bilingual leaders who can read hitters and pitchers. I admire their grit and their baseball IQs.<\/p>\n
Two, the Padres can win a wild-card playoff berth without adding a catcher.<\/p>\n
Three, the farm system seems low on trade currency, nor is it certain that MLB\u2019s ninth-highest payroll can be increased.<\/p>\n
Three catchers Preller should look into: Sean Murphy (Braves), Shane Langeliers (A\u2019s) and Joey Bart (Pirates).<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AP25184055916024.jpg\")
The Atlanta Braves Sean Murphy runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Angels, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/p>\n
Murphy, 30, could punch up a catching group that\u2019s 29th in slugging percentage, batting average and weighted runs created and 30th in on-base percentage.<\/p>\n
Murphy has 16 home runs and a .523 slug rate heading into the All-Star break. Drake Baldwin, 24, could lead the Braves to weigh offers for Murphy, who\u2019s owed about $50 million through 2028. Trading with the Braves last year, Preller saved $5.5 million by dealing Ray Kerr and Matt Carpenter to Atlanta. Kerr\u2019s elbow later gave out.<\/p>\n
The Braves, however, might decide Murphy can bring them a better deal this offseason.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AP25135116542315.jpg\")
The Athletics\u2019 Shea Langeliers celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a Miguel Andujar double during the fourth inning of their game against the Dodgers on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Dodger Stadium. (AP Photo\/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)<\/p>\n
Langeliers, 27, has a .424 slugging percentage with the A\u2019s. Bart, 28, is having a poor offensive season but hit 13 home runs last year with Pittsburgh, and the Pirates and Preller have brokered several trades.<\/p>\n
Gauging a catcher\u2019s defensive value is difficult, even with advanced metrics.<\/p>\n
Based on how Padres pitchers have performed, D\u00edaz and Maldonado had a fine defensive first half.<\/p>\n
Manager Mike Shildt noted that in Sunday\u2019s game, D\u00edaz had a say in how the Padres attacked Phillies hitters in 41 plate appearances \u2014 10 times D\u00edaz\u2019s total of four at-bats as the lineup\u2019s No. 9 hitter. The pitching was so good, the Phillies were fortunate to score at all and one run was unearned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can confidently tell you that Maldy and D\u00edaz have done a really good job,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard job also.\u201d<\/p>\n
He praised the catchers\u2019 \u201cshepherding\u201d of low-experience starting pitchers, such as rookie Ryan Bergert (10 games, 2.84 ERA), Stephen Kolek (12 starts, 4.24 ERA) and Randy Vasquez (19 starts, 3.80 ERA).<\/p>\n
Shildt also linked the All-Star status of three Padres relievers to the support from both catchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nuances of it, the preparation to it, the strategy going into a game, the awareness to make adjustments during the game, the ability to give guys confidence, the ability to make a trip and say the right things,\u201d he summed up. \u201cThey\u2019re a big reason why we sit there and have one of the best staffs with a lot of new guys that have made their debuts this year or are young to this league.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believe Shildt.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the rub: the Padres aren\u2019t talented enough to get to and win a World Series with Grade-F offensive production at one position.<\/p>\n
Might the catchers\u2019 hitting improve?<\/p>\n
Seems a stretch. D\u00edaz has a .555 OPS this season. His adjusted OPS of 59 stands about 40% below MLB average. At 34, he has caught a team-high 556 innings \u2014 62 more than Maldonado. Fatigue could catch up with D\u00edaz.<\/p>\n
Maldonado\u00a0will turn 39 next month. He has\u00a0four home runs and is batting .178 with a .221 OBP in 141 chances.<\/p>\n
The Padres\u2019 ERA with each catcher is 3.70 or slightly less. That beat the league-average ERA of 4.14<\/p>\n
![\"Luis](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SUT-L-padres-0714-009.jpg\")
Luis Campusano\u00a0#12\u00a0of the San Diego Padres strikes out in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Petco Park on July 13, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nCampusano\u2019s struggles<\/p>\n
Why have the Padres leaned on two low-salaried catchers past their primes?<\/p>\n
Because, in part, Luis Campusano, 26, hasn\u2019t earned the trust of field personnel.<\/p>\n
Recalled for Sunday\u2019s game when Gavin Sheets went on the paternity list, Campusano started at designated hitter and looked overmatched in all three chances.<\/p>\n
He struck out twice and grounded into an inning-ending double play before Shildt had Jake Cronenworth bat for him.<\/p>\n
In fairness, Phillies lefty starter Cristopher S\u00e1nchez\u2019s changeup is too good for most big leaguers. Even today\u2019s high-tech batting machines aren\u2019t much help in preparing for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonal opinion \u2014 the changeup\u2019s the best pitch in baseball, because it\u2019s the only pitch you can\u2019t really replicate,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cYou can replicate spin, you can replicate a fastball, you can replicate movement on a slider, sinker and all of those things. You just can\u2019t replicate a changeup of a machine or an arm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campusano never adjusted to S\u00e1nchez\u2019s killer changeups, seeing a whopping nine of them.<\/p>\n
He swung at two for strike three. In his third at-bat, the first pitch was, yes, a changeup, off the outside corner.<\/p>\n
Lunging, the righty grounded it to shortstop, resulting in the inning-ending double play.<\/p>\n
Shildt was asked if S\u00e1nchez\u2019s changeup \u2014 an 80 on the 10-80 scouting scale \u2014 made it tough to evaluate Campusano\u2019s showing in his first big-league game since June 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, it\u2019s the big leagues,\u201d he said. \u201c Yeah, it\u2019s a tough draw. But there\u2019s tough draws in this league. So, I\u2019m not sure how to answer that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campusano is 0-for-21 with 11 strikeouts in multiple stints with the Padres this year. As for his defensive game, neither of the past two Padres managers, one of them former catcher Bob Melvin, seemed wild about it. Caveat: catchers often need extra developmental time, due to the position\u2019s enormous mental and physical loads.<\/p>\n
This indeed is the big leagues.<\/p>\n
The trade deadline comes July 31. You\u2019re up, A.J.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: July 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A.J. Preller should trade for a catcher by month\u2019s end. That\u2019s clear. Allow me a few disclaimers while…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":63709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,1370,1266,3549,1306,7264,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-63708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-san-diego-padres","15":"tag-sandiego","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114849137756446933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}