Freddy

Fermin

Fermin, who was arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two player, had been projected to earn $1.8 million through arbitration by MLBTradeRumors.com. The 30-year-old backstop hit .251/.297/.339 with five homers and 26 RBI in 347 plate appearances between the Royals and Padres during the 2025 season. Even if he does open the season as the Padres’ starting catcher, the only fantasy value that he provides comes from a solid batting average.

San Diego could turn to Luis Campusano on their postseason roster if Díaz isn’t ready to go in a couple days. It’ll presumably be Freddy Fermin handling the catching duties in his absence. The 34-year-old veteran suffered an oblique injury during Saturday’s win over Arizona.

Fermin knocked in Bryce Johnson in the 11th to give the Padres a much-needed win in their race to knock off the Dodgers or clinch one of the final Wild Card spots. The 30-year-old has been a helper with the bat in September, as he came into the contest hitting .317/.333/.463 in the month. It’s still very much what he does behind the plate that makes Fermin valuable, however.

Fermin should be behind the plate for the majority of San Diego’s final two months, and while he’s not completely bereft of offensive ability, this is more of a “real-life” move than one that has a ton of fantasy intrigue.

To acquire Fermin, the Padres will send right-handers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to Kansas City, according to Passan. San Diego continues to be aggressive at the deadline, and Fermin is viewed as one of the better defensive backstops in the sport who can hold his own with the bat as seen in a .255 average; albeit with a slugging percentage of just .339. This could mean top catching prospect Carter Jensen could be on the way up to Kansas City, and he’s a player fantasy managers should take a close look at.

The 35-year-old backstop was feeling a bit under the weather on Friday night so the Royals ultimately made the decision to pull him from the lineup and give him an evening off to rest. Freddy Fermin will start behind the dish for the Royals and will bat seventh for the Royals against Pablo Lopez and the Twins.

The game was scoreless until the 11th, when both teams managed one run. The Red Sox then went scoreless in the 12th before the Royals scored right away in the bottom of the inning. It was Fermin’s first hit in five at-bats in the contest.

Perez will sit out his second straight game after making an early exit from Thursday’s game against the Rays with left hip soreness. The 34-year-old ironman rarely misses any action, so it’s notable that he’s getting some extra time off to rest and recover. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. It’ll be Freddy Fermin handling the catching duties in his absence.

Fermin started a total of nine of the Royals’ first 25 games, but they are more frequently going with Salvador Perez at DH now, probably in part because their designated hitters have been terrible. As a team, they’re batting .191/.271/.348, and that’s with Perez hitting .316/.350/.579 in his five starts.

There haven’t been any rumblings of any sort of injury, so it sounds like it’s just a regular day of rest for the hard-hitting backstop. Freddy Fermin will start behind the plate and will bat eighth for the Royals against Astros’ right-hander Hayden Wesneski.