The Padres insist this isn’t a lost season for Ethan Salas.

But he will have to make up ground one way or another.

The 19-year-old catcher has been cleared to get back into baseball activity after visiting with a back specialist and team physician Bryan Leek the past two days in San Diego.

Salas has been asymptomatic for about a month, said A.J. Preller, the Padres president of baseball operations. The question is whether the minor league season has enough runway left for Salas to return from the stress reaction in the lower right side of his back this year or if he’ll have wait to make up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League or in winter ball.

The top prospect left in the system, Salas has been sidelined since April and played in just 10 games for Double-A San Antonio this season.

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