Freddy Fermin's Offensive Collapse Has Jeopardized His Long-Term Standing With Padres

[Randy Holt]

The San Diego Padres entered 2026 with a pretty clear picture of what they wanted their catching tandem to look like. With a pair of big-league backstops on the roster in Freddy Fermin & Luis Campusano, the team elected not to seek additional support in favor of the defense-first nature of the former and the offensive upside of the latter. 

There were not necessarily any delusions about what Freddy Fermin is (or was) on the part of the Padres ahead of the season. Acquired from Kansas City at the 2025 trade deadline in hopes of stabilizing the position, he represents a catcher of an above-average defensive quality but with middling skills at the plate. With offensive upside elsewhere in the lineup, they could afford to get only occasional contributions out of their catcher if it meant that he would greatly support the pitching staff. Unfortunately, his bat couldn't live up to even those modest expectations.

Coming off a year in which he slashed a combined .251/.277/.339 (77 wRC+) for each of the Royals & Padres, Fermin turned in a woeful .203/.274/.315 (68 wRC+) line. There was a very brief glimmer of hope of an increase in June when Fermin posted a wRC+ of 133 and a .297 ISO, but that was almost exclusively on the strength of three of his four home runs coming in that month (he otherwise hit .189 in June). While his numbers were respectable over the remainder of the from that point forward he wound up only catching in 35 games the rest of the way. 

What he did do well, however, was here:

Fermin graded out as one of the best defensive catchers in Major League Baseball, with those percentiles translating to ranking 17th in framing, sixth in blocking, and third in throwing. You absolutely love that kind of production, but even that becomes difficult to navigate in absence of any production from an offensive standpoint. In total, Fermin saw time in 95 games for the Padres. Sixty of those came in the first three months.

In June, Campusano was back in the mix following a toe injury. By September, wunderkind catcher Ethan Salas had arrived. Campusano showcased improved defense that crept closer to league average in addition to being a crucial secondary bat in the second half of the season. Salas already has defensive chops and an intriguing-enough bat that the Padres were willing not only to add him to the mix in September, but give him meaningful innings in the postseason. 

That leaves Fermin's standing with the organization fairly unclear moving forward. Salas, if his upside is realized, is the total package. Campusano's defensive chops have reached a point where he can serve as a reasonable option as a backup catcher or as a designated hitter when he's not behind the plate. While the Padres ran with three catchers down the stretch—an ideal setup for their bench composition at that particular time—it may be unreasonable to expect them to do so with a full season to play in 2027, even if Fermin does have another three seasons of team control. 

There are teams out there that might have a place for Fermin. Perhaps one with a surefire starting option in need of a suitable defensive backup will come calling this offseason. While the possibility exists that the Padres could move Campusano in hopes of maximizing defense behind the plate, it feels likely that they saw enough growth from him in 2026 to keep him in the mix. Fermin's offense was never expected to rise to either his level or the upside of Salas, but with how brutal it actually landed on the stat sheet, it's more likely that he's the odd-man out.

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