If the Padres are serious about tightening the margins in 2026, the cleanest path isn’t just a splashy bat or another moonshot on the mound. It could be a simple, grown-up answer behind the plate. Veteran catching is the kind of move that rarely trends, but it changes how a pitching staff breathes, how game plans land, and how one-run innings become clean zeros. San Diego doesn’t need a headline here; they need certainty that travels from February bullpens to October leverage.
That doesn’t mean the catching situation is broken. It means the Padres are one smart addition away from insulating a position that quietly touches everything else.