Does Freddy Fermin Help Padres Bridge the Gap at Catcher?

The catching situation for the San Diego Padres in 2025 was never going to be completely tenable. In fact, it wasn't even remotely tenable. 

In reality, the Padres had been skating by on a little bit of luck behind the plate over the last few years. They got some really nice production out of Gary Sánchez in 2023 before Kyle Higashioka parlayed his stealing of the starting job last year into a lucrative two-year pact with Texas. Neither was meant to be a long-term solution, however. 

The team also failed to bring in such an answer ahead of this season. Last winter, San Diego brought back late-season pickup Elías Díaz on January 30th. That came exactly two weeks after they agreed to a minor league deal with veteran backstop Martín Maldonado. It was a low-risk pairing that allowed the team to work within the confines of their budgetary limitations, but there was also never going to be a high-reward aspect. You kind of knew exactly what you were getting. 

Unfortunately, that minimal upside has come to pass in more ways than one in '25. Díaz has turned in a wRC+ of just 67 across 85 games while providing decent defense. Maldonado, meanwhile, was at a wRC+ of 61 (64 games) and was below average on the defensive side just about everywhere. All told, only the Washington Nationals have gotten less than the -0.9 fWAR that San Diego has seen from behind the plate. As such, it wasn't a matter of if A.J. Preller would seek to upside the catching position ahead of the trade deadline, but how it would be addressed. 

Options did exist, and none at a prohibitive cost. Korey Lee gave way to a pair of youngsters on the South Side of Chicago. Ryan Jeffers was playing out a season for an increasingly bad team out of Minnesota. Reese McGuire might've been an option out of Chicago had Miguel Amaya returned for the Cubs before the deadline. All of those names were floated as possibilities, whether real or imagined. Instead, Preller went a route that few might've expected in acquiring Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals. 

Fermin is 30 years old but has only been at the top level as a regular since 2023. He broke onto the scene with Kansas City via a 108 wRC+ and nice defensive metrics two years ago before taking a bit of a step back at the plate in '24 (92 wRC+). He's regressed further in 2025 (78 wRC+) but still provides an upgrade over what the team was getting out of the Díaz-Maldonado duo. Given that Preller also acquired Ramón Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn, though, the more immediate concern is going to be what Fermin can offer from a defensive standpoint. 

From a framing standpoint, Fermin technically sits above average. He's accrued one Catcher Framing Runs (per Statcast), putting him 23rd among 56 qualifying catchers. That sits fairly well ahead of where Maldonado's -1 (34th) and Díaz's -4 (50th) rank.

On the blocking side, Fermin is at three Blocks Above Average. That's 19th among 63 catchers with enough chances to qualify there. That's slightly ahead of Díaz (two) and miles in front of Maldonado (-8). If we expanded the range to include each of the last three seasons, Fermin is a top-10 blocker at the position with 13 Blocks Above Average. That puts him right at No. 10 while Díaz checks in at 35th and Maldonado at 52nd. 

It's a trend that largely carries over to managing the run game, as well. Fermin is exactly average in Caught Stealing Above Average (zero) which does put him behind Díaz (one) for 2025. It does, however, put him well ahead of Maldonado (-5), who ranked 65th out of 66 catchers. If we did the same expansion of the timeframe, though, Fermin jumps up to the 10th spot, just narrowly ahead of Díaz. It seems worth noting that Fermin also possesses one of the faster pop times (1.89 sec) in all of baseball. 

So it goes without saying that the team is getting an upgrade behind the dish in Freddy Fermin. It's not a massive defensive upgrade over Díaz in every respect, but it is in most of them. To say nothing of the bump you get at the plate (even if Fermin does remain a below average hitter). In shedding Maldonado, as the Padres did in quickly designating him for assignment, the team stands to get a tangible upgrade. 

What's more is that this is a medium-term move for the Padres. This isn't yet another situation where the team has a catcher settle in only to depart in the subsequent offseason. Instead, Fermin is under team control through 2029. So, you're getting a wholly solid defensive catcher who's shown a bit more with the bat than he's demonstrated in '25. Moving some depth in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek made it a hefty price to pay, but it's one that offers some stability to a position that has lacked it entirely in San Diego in recent years. 

On paper, that type of move is worth the cost.