Reds can forget about Dalton Rushing after injury news, but Dodgers rival offers a better fit

The Cincinnati Reds have a problem brewing behind the plate. Tyler Stephenson is likely to price himself out of the Reds market. The rest of the free-agent options, save for Ryan Jeffers, whom Cincinnati certainly can't afford, are not really starting-caliber options and would provide little upgrade over Jose Trevino.

That sets the trade market as the best way for the Reds to fortify this all-important position. Even then, finding matches is tough, but one that seemed intriguing was Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing.

The Dodgers' former top prospect is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Three-time All-Star Will Smith is entrenched as the starter, and with a $140 million contract that runs through 2033, he's not ceding control of the position any time soon. Rushing had an awful debut season in 2025, posting a .582 OPS. 2026 was significantly better, with the 25-year-old hitting .246/.328/.460 with 12 homers over 80 games.

However, Rushing battled some incredible streakiness this year. He recorded a scorching 1.271 OPS in the season's first month, but when the calendar flipped to May, he suffered a calamitous fall to a .385 mark. Things stabilized a bit from there, but it's enough doubt to lower the cost of acquisition.

Rushing's season was cut short by a tear in his UCL. Now, the Reds can cross him off their list, as it's been announced that he'll undergo hybrid internal brace surgery that will keep him from catching for nine months.

Cincinnati might not have to look too far for a pivot, though, with Los Angeles's division rival, the San Diego Padres, potentially offering up an even better solution in Luis Campusano.

Luis Campusano is a better trade target for the Reds than Dalton Rushing, even if you disregard the injury

Campusano finished his 2026 season hitting .265/.363/.433 with eight homers over 71 games. Aside from the low games-played total, that sounds like ideal offensive production at a position where competence with the bat is incredibly difficult to find. So why would the Padres give him up? And why would he be considered a buy-low candidate?

The biggest reason is a serious squeeze at the position. At the end of the season, San Diego called up top prospect Ethan Salas for a cup of coffee. The 20-year-old is MLB Pipeline's No. 21 overall prospect, and he showed enough to be included on the Padres' postseason roster.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller claims that a starting job won't be handed to Salas in 2027, but it's pretty clear that he is the club's future at the position. In addition to Campusano and Salas, San Diego has Freddy Fermin, a veteran in the vein of Trevino who excels with the glove and does just enough with the bat to be viable on the big league roster.

On top of all of that, it's been made clear that the Padres don't really trust Campusano. San Diego traded for Fermin at last year's trade deadline in part because of Campusano's struggles. They demoted the catcher who was once their No. 3 overall prospect and the No. 2 catching prospect in the league behind Adley Rutschman after he went hitless over 10 games in 2025.

Campusano makes more sense for the Reds than Rushing for a couple of other reasons, too. One has to do with Cincinnati's road map for the future. Top prospect Alfredo Duno is the future of the position, though if he makes the majors in 2027, it will only be as a September call-up. His target arrival date is 2028, and by that point the Reds will be out from under Trevino's contract.

The 2028 season also represents Campusano's final year of team control, whereas Rushing doesn't hit free agency until 2032. Therefore, going the Campusano route gives the Reds a quality backup and insurance in 2028 for Duno, without the potential to create a playing-time controversy down the road.

Finally, Rushing found himself at the center of a few controversies in 2026, with maturity issues becoming a chief concern. On a veteran-laden squad like the Dodgers, these bumps are easily smoothed out, but for a young team like the Reds, it's something that can send the entire club on a downward spiral.

As for price, Campusano won't be expensive. San Diego has a lot of need in its starting rotation, and if the Reds parted with an arm that could conceivably compete for a fifth starter spot, the Padres would almost certainly say, yes. While pitching depth is important to Cincinnati, the club has enough of this sort of low-end talent that it can part with a Quad-A type hurler and come away with a starting catcher with a good deal of potential. Sounds like a win to us.

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