Padres sending Austin Nola to Triple-A is one of many roster moves

The San Diego Padres made many roster moves ahead of their series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays today:

The headliner of those moves is that Luis Campusano (thumb) is back and Austin Nola is headed to Triple-A El Paso.

Nothing against Nola personally but he just has had no impact on the field for this team recently. The 33-year-old has played once since July 2, which came July 15 where he went 1-for-4 to improve his batting average to .146 (with a .452 OPS) on the season.

If Campusano hadn’t gotten hurt earlier this season, he was going to become the starting catcher over Nola but then he sprained his thumb and had to have surgery. Gary Sanchez was acquired from the New York Mets on May 29 and so he became the starter.

Now Sanchez and Campusano will share the catching duties and I’d assume whoever hits better will become the real starter. Campusano has a real shot of winning the job, as he’s under club control beyond 2023 and Sanchez is hitting just .150 since June 14 after a hot start in the brown and gold.

Rougned Odor is another player who got off to a good start but has since cooled off while Alfonso Rivas is hitting .400 with a 1.825 OPS over the last week. Brandon Dixon had some good moments in June but has one hit in July so far.

Taylor Kohlwey, for folks who haven’t heard the name, isn’t someone who should get a ton of playing time and wasn’t tearing up El Paso before getting the call. If he gets into a game, he’ll be making his Major League debut.

Matt Carpenter (.174 AVG, 4 HR) is a name that some fans were confused about not being designated for assignment but he does have a two-year contract and is one of two left-handed bats on the bench for Bob Melvin assuming he isn’t in the lineup.

If the Padres are still trying to go for it at the deadline, Carpenter should be the next guy gone.