A recent uptick in production was not enough to keep the Padres from trying to upgrade at the catcher position.
The team on Thursday acquired Freddy Fermin from the Royals in exchange for starting pitchers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. The move came hours after the Padres got starting pitcher JP Sears and closer Mason Miller from the A’s for a package that included top prospect Leo De Vries.
Fermin is batting .255 with a .645 OPS in 208 plate appearances. The 30-year-old right-handed batter has started 51 games at catcher this season.
The Padres see Fermin, who is arbitration eligible for the first time in 2026, as solid behind the plate and believe he has the attributes of a good catcher in terms of being able to work with the pitching staff. They also point to the fact he has been stuck behind, Salvador Perez, a perennial All-Star and Royals franchise pillar, and think Fermin can flourish with more at-bats.
It is not known what that means for Elias Díaz or Martín Maldonado, who have split the catching duties this season. The 38-year-old Maldonado has been viewed by most in the organization as likley to be released if the Padres added a catcher.
Maldonado is 8-for-20 with three doubles over his past six starts, raising his average 29 points to .204 and his OPS 60 points to .572.
Díaz has had big RBIs in two of the Padres’ three victories over the Mets this week and is 6-for-21 with a double and a home run over his past seven starts. That raised his average from .193 to 202 and his OPS 20 points to .576.
The pair still has the fifth-lowest average and fourth-lowest OPS among all major league catching groups.
Díaz and Maldonado have been prized by manager Mike Shildt and the pitching coaches for their work with the pitching staff. Despite being without two of its top starting pitchers for the bulk of the season, the rotation ranks 13th in MLB with a 3.97 ERA.
But there is a strong belief in the organization that the team needs more offense from the position.
And Fermin does seem to be an updgrade offensively despite having something of a down season. He did have a .722 OPS over 603 plate appearances in 2023 and ’24.
As with the deal for Miller and Sears, the cost of doing business at this deadline appears high.
Bergert and Kolek showed signs of being promising back-of-the-rotation starters. And their departure leaves the Padres thin in their rotation.
Kolek, in his first season as big-league starter, has a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts (79⅔ innings). He threw a complete game shutout on May 10 at Coors Field and in his last start allowed the Cardinals two runs in six innings.
Bergert made his major league debut on April 26 and made four appearances out of the bullpen before being sent down. He was recalled to make his first start June 3 against the Giants and got the win after allowing two runs in five innings. He has a 2.78 ERA across 35⅔ innings.
Kolek was optioned to Triple-A on Tuesday to make room for Bergert, who was called up to start against the Mets. Bergert allowed one run in four innings that night in a 7-1 Padres victory. The Padres have won six of Bergert’s seven starts and he has a 3.13 ERA in 31⅔ innings in those games.
The Padres’ rotation consists of Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vásquez and Sears. Michael King, whose 2.59 ERA was seventh best in the National Lesgue when he went on the injured list in May with a nerve impingement near his right shoulder, is expected to return by mid-August.
It is possible Cease is traded by Thursday’s 3 p.m. PT deadline, as the Padres do expect to add an outfielder and probably still need to clear some payroll space to land one of their prefered targets.
Originally Published:
Source link
