Padres Top Prospect Has Back Injury, Will Miss Significant Time

In a significant blow to the San Diego Padres' farm system, the team's top prospect is expected to miss a considerable portion of the season, likely returning at some point in July.

Catcher Ethan Salas is dealing with a stress reaction in his lower back, which has kept him out since April 17, when he had to leave a game that day for a pinch runner due to the back pain he experienced.

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It was not until April 26 that he was placed on the injured list due to a lack of progress in his back rehabilitation at the Padres' complex in Arizona. He continued swinging the bat during this time, but the back issue persisted.

Ethan Salas, 18 years old and racking up three-hit games at Double-A ⚡️

The @Padres' second-ranked prospect -- the youngest player in the Texas League -- plates a pair for @missionsmilb: pic.twitter.com/B1l4ZnbOGN
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 10, 2025

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller believes that the injury will not linger in the long term; rather, the real disappointment stems from his lack of playing time and, therefore, development time this season in Double-A.

“The first we heard about, it was the early part of this season,” Preller said to reporters including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune.

“Started sitting out for a few days, came back, felt good, started playing again or taking batting practice again, (then) feeling it a little bit again. Thought he could play with it. Obviously super young, didn’t want to risk anything.

“It’s not anything that our doctors feel is long-term … It’s going to be we’ll see how he responds to the rest and everything like that."

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Salas is one of the most highly-regarded prospects the organization has to offer, ranked No. 29 in the top 100 by MLB.com.

Ethan Salas to Cobb Hightower pic.twitter.com/g72bAzaQJa
— Danny (@dannybarrand_) March 1, 2025

The catcher position remains underwhelming for the Padres, likely presenting an opportunity for Salas — if he continues to develop — to join the majors sooner rather than later. However, MLB.com projects Salas to debut in 2027.

It is unclear how the injury will affect his development. Though a delay is guaranteed, if he comes back performing at a high level, he will end up just fine.

In 10 games for Double-A San Antonio, Salas is slashing .188/.325/.219.

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