San Diego Padres Continue Roster Cuts, Reassign 2 Players to Minor League Camp

The San Diego Padres announced another round of roster cuts on Monday, this one involving two catchers.

Catchers Blake Hunt and Anthony Vilar were reassigned to minor league camp, leaving the Padres with 54 players at Major League camp with a week and a half to go until Opening Day.

There are now only three catchers remaining at Major League camp: Freddy Fermin, Luis Campusano and Rodolfo Durán. Fermin and Campusano are essentially locks to make the Opening Day roster while Durán is with the team as a non-roster invite.

We have reassigned C Blake Hunt and C Anthony Vilar to minor league camp.

With today’s moves, we now have 54 players in Major League camp.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 16, 2026

Blake Hunt reassigned to minor league camp

Hunt joined the Padres on a minor league deal in December for his second stint with the team.

The 27-year-old was initially drafted by the Padres in the second round of the 2017 draft. He was then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2020 in the blockbuster deal that brought Blake Snell to San Diego. He was a top prospect in the Padres organization at the time of the trade.

Hunt never made it to the big leagues with the Rays, though, and was traded to the Seattle Mariners in November 2023. He was then traded to the Baltimore Orioles in May 2024, and back to the Mariners in January 2025.

Despite all the movement, Hunt is yet to make his MLB debut. In 164 career games at Triple-A, he's slashing .249/.322/.430 with 21 home runs, 85 runs batted in and an OPS of .752.

The Padres brought Hunt back this offseason to serve as catching depth in the organization. However, he suffered an oblique injury early in camp that has prevented him from playing in any Cactus League games.

Anthony Vilar reassigned to minor league camp

Vilar, 26, was drafted by the Padres in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He's worked his way up through the organization over the last five years, spending the entire 2025 season in Double-A.

Across 100 games in Double-A last year, Vilar slashed .209/.316/.317 with six home runs, 32 RBIs and an OPS of .633. He appeared in 11 Cactus League games this spring, going 3-for-12 (.250) with an OPS of .771.

Luis Campusano impressing manager Craig Stammen in camp

As for the big league roster, Fermin is set to be the starter, with Campusano as the backup.

While Campusano has struggled with the bat this spring — hitting .172 with an OPS of .491 — he's impressed manager Craig Stammen with his work defensively.

“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. “ … 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.”

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