Freddy Fermin Activated Off Padres' Injured List

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The San Diego Padres' catching situation is back to full strength.

Freddy Fermin was activated off the 10-day injured list just two weeks after sustaining a head contusion. Catcher Rodolfo Duran, who made his MLB debut after 11 seasons in the minors, was sent back to Triple-A El Paso.

Fermin was hit in the mask by a foul from Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the July 2 game. While he stayed in the game for a few batters, Fermin was removed during a mound visit by manager Craig Stammen when he showed signs of the injury. This came about 10 days after Fermin returned from the seven-day concussion list.

Fermin's two injuries plus Luis Campusano breaking his left big toe in early May and not returning until July 3 tested the Padres' catching depth. That led to Duran making his debut as well as Blake Hunt getting his first taste of MLB action after nine seasons in the minors. Duran at one point was the No. 1 catcher with Hunt his backup.

Duran endeared himself to Padres pitchers with his defense and game-calling. However, he only had a slash line of .146/.222/.305 in 35 games, with three homers and eight RBIs. He allowed just 16 stolen bases in 27 chances, a very good caught-stealing rate of 40.7% (the MLB average is 24%).

 

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