With Salas on horizon, how do Padres' catchers stack up?

In the buildup to Spring Training, MLB.com is taking a look at the Padres, position by position. Today's newsletter focuses on catcher. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

By just about any metric available, the Padres had the worst combined catching production in baseball in late May. Then, they signed Gary Sánchez and their fortunes changed entirely.

Sánchez was a revelation with San Diego, and he was a large part of the reason the team remained afloat through June and July. Eventually, Luis Campusano returned from thumb surgery, and the Padres had a legitimately formidable tandem behind the plate.

Now, Sánchez is a free agent, unlikely to return to San Diego. But the Padres still feel they have the makings of a solid group behind the plate -- with the best catching prospect in baseball on the horizon.

Here's a look at where things stand for the Padres at catcher:

On the 40-man roster: Campusano, Kyle Higashioka, Brett Sullivan

Departures: Sánchez, Austin Nola

Top 30 prospects: Ethan Salas (Padres' No. 1, No. 5 overall), Brandon Valenzuela (Padres' No. 10), Lamar King Jr. (No. 20), J.D. Gonzalez (No. 24)

Do the Padres have enough for 2024?

This is almost entirely dependent on the version of Campusano the Padres get. Because at this point, we know what Higashioka is -- a solid defensive catcher who has proven to be a serviceable backup.

Campusano's outlook is less stable. He missed three months last season because of a left thumb injury and has never played more than 50 big league games in a season.

Then again, Campusano's second-half performance gave the Padres every reason to believe he's capable of performing at a high level as a starter.

So, do the Padres have enough? Impossible to say. They'd be smart to at least bring someone else to big league camp to compete with Sullivan for that No. 3 role.

What's Campusano's ceiling?

In 42 games in the second half, Campusano batted .331/.375/.500. Perhaps just as important, players and staff alike raved about his development behind the plate.

It's not fair to expect Campusano to post those numbers over a full season. Catching wears players down. But it's completely fair to think Campusano might build on that performance and become one of the better offensive catchers in the National League.

"With Campy, that's going to be the challenge," general manager A.J. Preller said in November at the GM Meetings. "He's got to show that he's capable of playing at the big league level as a regular-type player, doing that day-in, day-out. ... Skill-set wise, he's kind of shown that he's got the ability to do that. So we'll give him some opportunity to continue to grow."

The Higgy complement

Given the volatility of potential outcomes for Campusano, Higashioka feels like a savvy pickup. He's not spectacular. But he's proven to have a year-to-year baseline as a catcher who can hold his own at the plate, while delivering plenty of value behind it.

Last season, Higashioka finished in the 90th percentile in framing, per Statcast. He should serve as a calming presence for what figures to be a young pitching staff -- not to mention the fact that he's worked directly with three of the arms acquired from New York in the Soto trade.

"I'm incredibly excited to be a San Diego Padre," Higashioka, a native of Huntington Beach, told MLB Network Radio last month. "I love the West Coast. I grew up there. It’s definitely going to be an incredible experience, and I'm looking forward to this new challenge, meeting a new group of guys and trying to win a world championship with them."

The Salas effect

Prior to the Soto trade, the Padres had interest in a Sánchez reunion and were also active in looking at catching on the free-agent market. But they felt little reason to dole out a multiyear contract.

That's because of Salas, the sport's top catching prospect at just 17 years old. In his first pro season, Salas reached Double-A San Antonio -- and held his own there. Salas has drawn rave reviews for just about every aspect of his game. A year ago, upon Salas' signing, scouting director Chris Kemp called him the best prospect he'd scouted.

Salas is the Padres' catcher of the future. That much is clear. It's probably not fair to expect him to contribute in 2024. (Though with Preller running the show, would anyone be surprised by a top prospect being moved quickly to the big leagues?) San Diego's future is bright behind the plate, nonetheless.

The verdict

The Padres' long-term picture at catcher is clear. They envision a roster with both Campusano and Salas comprising one of the sport's best catching tandems. A timeshare could work, too, at a position notorious for wearing players down, with a DH spot available.

Because of the strength of that long-term projection, it seems the Padres are willing to gamble a bit in the short term. So are Campusano and Higashioka enough in 2024? That's wholly contingent on Campusano remaining healthy and extrapolating his late-'23 success over a full season.