Padres Notes: Infielder Called Up, Ethan Salas Trade Rumors, Surprise Player Breaking Out

The San Diego Padres lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3, on Tuesday evening in an 11-inning contest, falling to 34-32 on the year.

Right-hander Lucas Giolito struck out three across four innings as he allowed an earned run on two hits in his fifth outing for San Diego.

Offensively, the Friars got started with an RBI triple from center fielder Jackson Merrill in the third inning while Manny Machado singled him in four pitches later. It was a deadlock until the 10th inning when the Reds took the lead, but a Samad Taylor RBI single further tied things up.

After generating the first out of the 11th inning, left-hander Yuki Matsui surrendered what would turn into the deciding two-run home run as the Padres went down in order in the bottom half of the inning.

Ahead of the eventual defeat, the Friars called up a 27-year-old infielder in hopes to rejuvenate the offense in Xander Bogaerts' absence. In 30 Triple-A appearances this season, the Houston native is hitting .255 with three home runs.

In other news, the likelihood of catcher Ethan Salas being flipped at the trade deadline was discussed by a top insider. President of baseball operations AJ Preller's track record with no prospects really staying "untouchable" was one of the talking points as San Diego appears to be in need of a major move (or two) to get back on track.

Finally, manager Craig Stammen spoke on a conversation he had with a surprise breakout player on the roster. The skipper posed a question as to where production comes from and the role that confidence plays in a given hot streak.

"Does success come first and then confidence, or can confidence come first and then that leads to success? Nobody really knows the complete answer to that, but we’re trying to breathe that confidence in all these guys," he said.

Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Padres’ Xander Bogaerts Leaves Team, 27-Year-Old Promoted

Padres Insider Reveals Likelihood of Ethan Salas Trade at Deadline

Padres Manager Had Conversation With Freddy Fermin That Led to Sudden Breakout

Padres Insider Delivers Good News on Fernando Tatis' Power Returning

Padres Expected to Target Big-Name Catcher Ahead of Trade Deadline

Dodgers All-Star Calls Padres' Mason Miller 'Impossible' to Hit

Padres Tweets of the Day

Bada bing, bada boom 🎳 pic.twitter.com/zHGLRNwhzh
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 10, 2026

Samad comes through! pic.twitter.com/KZ3cWiGhaU
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 10, 2026

Victoria's wish to meet @tatis_jr has been granted 🥹 pic.twitter.com/P3T0Ns2vIY
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 9, 2026

The only way I would want to ever seem him traded is if one of the albatross contracts are going with him.

Other than that it makes absolutely zero sense with the way the Padres catching situation is. https://t.co/E7YcPIiOgi
— OpTic Di3seL (@Di3seL) June 9, 2026

Who would’ve thought the outfield we’d all be loving right now would be Fernando Tatís Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jase Bowen, and Samad Taylor.

Not exactly the group most people imagined a few months ago, but the energy, athleticism, defense, and hustle have been electric. pic.twitter.com/jpPzqWmeHu
— SleeperPadres (@SleeperPadres) June 9, 2026

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