The San Diego Padres had a busy trade deadline, and continued to make moves in August by bringing in minor league catcher Eli Wilson from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Wilson is not listed on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, so the Padres had the green light to make a move on the catcher. He is the second catcher the Padres have brought in over the last couple of days, also acquiring Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
The Padres assigned Wilson, 27, to Double-A San Antonio on Sunday.
The catcher played 11 games in the Pirates organization this season, all of which came in Triple-A. Through 34 at-bats he had a .294 average with a home run and a .755 OPS.
While the Padres have a long line of catchers in front of Wilson, they may not see any of them as long term replacements, and believe in Wilson’s potential to make it to the MLB level. He has spent his entire minor league career in the Pirates’ organization, and has a .746 OPS through his six minor league seasons.
The Padres have Fermin and Elias Diaz at the major league level behind the plate, neither of whom are batting league average this season. They have also given Triple-A catcher Luis Campusano some opportunities in MLB, however he doesn’t have a hit this season despite ripping up the minor leagues.
Wilson seems to be a last resort option for the Padres if they are unable to figure out their struggles at catcher by the end of the season, and gives the Padres some extra cushion at the position if they end up needing it.
They head into a series home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, which begins at 6:40 p.m. PT.
