The Padres introduced that they’ve chosen the contract of catcher Rodolfo Durán. He’ll take the energetic roster spot of fellow backstop Luis Campusano, who has been positioned on the 10-day injured record with a left toe fracture. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Joe Musgrove has been transferred to the 60-day injured record. Previous to the official announcement, Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune famous that Durán was current within the locker room.
Per Heilbrunn, Campusano suffered his damage when he fouled a ball off his foot on Tuesday. It’s unclear how a lot time he’s anticipated to overlook but it surely’s an unlucky setback for him. Campusano completed final season on the roster bubble. He struggled in 2024 after which was hardly referred to as up in 2025, burning his remaining choice 12 months, leaving him out of choices going ahead.
The Padres didn’t add any catchers to the massive league roster within the offseason, due to this fact beginning 2026 with Campusano and Freddy Fermin as their catching duo. Campusano has produced an enormous .288/.362/.596 line up to now this 12 months however now that manufacturing will probably be on pause whereas he offers with this toe fracture.
Since there have been solely two catchers on the roster, the Friars had so as to add somebody to exchange Campusano. That somebody is Durán. He will get an enormous league roster spot for the primary time and is making his main league debut. He’s in tonight’s lineup, batting ninth.
Duran, 28, was a global signing out of the Dominican Republic approach again in 2014. He started his large league profession with the Phillies however grew to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Since then, he has signed minor league offers with the Yankees, Royals and Padres.
As a minor leaguer, he has typically been thought-about a reliable defender. By way of his offense, he has some pop however has normally had subpar stroll charges. Since he first signed with the Padres going into 2025, he has an 8.6% stroll fee at Triple-A, significantly better than earlier in his profession. His .278/.347/.488 slash in that year-plus span seems to be fairly good, although within the hitter-friendly setting of the Pacific Coast League, that really interprets to a subpar 96 wRC+. Catchers are typically about ten factors beneath league common although, so it’s doable Durán may be greater than sufficient for a depth backstop.
Since that is Durán’s first large league name, he has a full slate of choices. Meaning he may be simply despatched again to El Paso when Campusano will get wholesome. It’s additionally doable the Padres look so as to add some extra depth by way of a minor commerce or a waiver declare, since they’re a bit mild behind the plate.
As for Musgrove, this isn’t a stunning transaction. His 60-day rely is retroactive to the beginning of the season, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in late Could. He’s not going to be prepared at the moment. He’s nonetheless recovering from his 2024 Tommy John surgical procedure. There’s not loads of details about his present standing however he hasn’t begun a rehab project.
At any time when he does start a rehab project, he’ll certainly want some time to ramp up, successfully as a delayed spring coaching. Rehab assignments for pitchers are usually capped at 30 days however a pitcher recovering from UCL surgical procedure can have that prolonged by ten days, with as many as three such extensions doable.
Picture courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Pictures
