Padres Manager Reveals Why Luis Campusano is a 'Weapon' for San Diego

The 2026 season is an important one for San Diego Padres backup catcher Luis Campusano. This season is Campusano's last chance at maintaining a big league roster spot after spending a majority of his career in the minor leagues.

The 27-year-old's performance is directly tied to the Padres' success this year as starting backstop Freddy Fermin is expected to get a good number of days off throughout the season. Campusano will need to produce if he wants to stick around in MLB.

Manager Craig Stammen recently praised Campusano as a "weapon" behind the plate for San Diego as he's shown a pivotal strength in ABS challenging thus far.

“Yeah, he’s pretty good at it,” Stammen said. “He’s self-proclaimed pretty good at it. So, you know, he’s definitely a weapon behind the plate in the ABS challenging and he used them very appropriately. You know, got Michael out of that one inning. … It was a 3-1 pitch, got it 3-2 and then struck him out on the 3-2 fastball. So, yeah, if you use it effectively, it can change the game a little bit.”

While Campusano has received approval for his work behind the plate, his bat has yet to arrive to the big leagues.

In five at-bats this season, Campusano has yet to record a hit with three strikeouts. It is a small sample size, but what's worrisome is the catcher didn't get a hit in any major league game last season, either. Across 27 plate appearances, Campusano was hitless in 2025. His last hit in a major league game came all the way back on Aug. 31, 2024.

This is not good news for a lineup that has scored just 12 runs in their first five games of the season.

The San Francisco Giants earned a 3-2 win over the Padres on Monday and the Friars would have gone scoreless had it not been for a two-run homer from Jackson Merrill with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Padres lost again, 9-3, on Tuesday.

Campusano's performance at the plate this spring brought a lot of question marks, but Stammen remained adamant that his success behind the plate trumped anything else.

“What we’re most concerned about with Campy is what he’s doing behind the plate and he’s done really well behind the plate,” Stammen said in camp. “ … There’s always competition for everything. Every time you take an at-bat, every time you step behind the dish, anytime you’re on base, you’re competing. With Campy, we’re very satisfied with who he is and what he’s done this spring with our pitching staff and he’s got a pretty strong hold on that second spot.”

If Campusano can't find a way to produce with his bat, it leaves the Padres in serious trouble at the catcher position. Given San Diego's early offensive struggles, the Padres don't need a liability in their lineup.