Padres Promote 28-Year-Old Rookie, Place Luis Campusano on Injured List Amid Breakout Season

The bad news for San Diego Padres catcher Luis Campusano is good news for third-string catcher Rodolfo Duran.

Duran was promoted from Triple-A El Paso on Thursday, when the Padres prepared to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a four-game series. Campusano was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left toe fracture. Right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move.

It isn’t the first time this season the Padres have summoned Duran from Triple-A El Paso.

The 28-year-old catcher joined the Padres on April 16 in advance of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park. At the time, catcher Freddy Fermin was undergoing concussion testing after he took a foul ball off his mask the night before.

Ultimately, Duran went back to the minor leagues without appearing in a game. Because he isn’t on the Padres’ 40-man roster, multiple roster moves were needed before he could be promoted.

Campusano was deemed day-to-day after taking a foul ball of his foot in Tuesday’s win over the San Francisco Giants. Now, he’ll miss at least the next 10 days amid a breakout season that’s seen him hit .288 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and an OPS of .958.

As for Duran, he signed a minor league contract with the Padres in January 2025 and has spent the past two seasons at Triple-A El Paso.

The catcher is a veteran of 615 minor league games since 2015, when he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager. He’s a career .268/.335/.458 hitter in Triple-A, but has so far been buried on the depth chart of four different big league organizations.

Prior to signing with the Padres, Duran played for the Kansas City Royals organization in 2024. He split his time between Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, slashing .282/.323/.467 across the two levels.

In 2023, Duran spent the entire season with the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate — his first full season at the highest level of the minor leagues. Duran slashed .252/.329/.444 for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders that season.

From 2015-21, Duran climbed the Phillies’ organizational ladder slowly, topping out with four games at Triple-A in his final season. He has also appeared in 90 Dominican Winter League games from 2020-26, slashing .242/.283/.377 in his homeland’s top circuit.

At 5-foot-8, Duran becomes the shortest position player on the Padres’ active roster.

Padres Place Joe Musgrove on 60-Day IL

As for Musgrove, he’s ramping back up from 2024 Tommy John surgery. He suffered a setback this spring that has him sidelined for seemingly the foreseeable future.

While this move was strictly procedural, the latest updates on Musgrove don’t provide much confidence toward him returning any time soon.

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