Freddy

Fermin

Salas wouldn’t be called up unless he was going to play, so expect him to do a lot of the catching over Freddy Fermin. Luis Campusano could function as more of a DH with Gavin Sheets and Luis Rengifo on the IL. Salas, still just 20 years old, has shaken off a couple of injury-filled seasons to hit .296/.374/.448 with 10 homers and 17 steals between Double- and Triple-A this year. He probably won’t be of use in one-catcher mixed leagues right away.

Freddy Fermin has now started eight of 12 games behind the plate, with Campusano catching four times and DHing once during that span. Campusano is out-OPSing Fermin .904 to .568, but Fermin’s defense matters more to Craig Stammen. The Padres have gone 36-26 with Fermin starting.

Fermin had been shelved with a bruised head since early July, but made it through a recent rehab assignment with no issues and is ready to return. He is not in the Padres’ starting lineup for Friday’s battle against the Royals though. Rodolfo Duran was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move on Friday.

He began a rehab assignment there last night and figures to be activated in the near future, though it’s worth noting he DHed and has not caught in a game yet.

It’s a separate issue from the concussion that he suffered in mid-June. No word yet from the Padres on how long he’ll be shelved for. Luis Campusano was activated from the injured list to take his place on the Padres’ active roster.

Fermin returns to San Diego’s catching mix after missing just over one week with a concussion.

Fermin was hit in the head by an errant warm-up toss from Yuki Matsui during Saturday’s game. He’ll need to pass through the concussion protocol before he’s eligible to return. Blake Hunt was promoted from Triple-A El Paso to take his place on the Padres’ active roster.

Fermin hadn’t started three straight days all year, so it’s safe to say he was only in there tonight because he homered Saturday and Sunday. Now we’ll wait and see whether the Padres will make it four games in a row. They could always DH him if they think he needs a break from catching.

Fermin has two homers and five RBI in two days after opening the season with a .126/.227/.165 line, no homers and four RBI in 119 plate appearances through Friday. Alas, while Saturday night’s homer was huge in a 3-2 win, Fermin didn’t get enough help in a 7-3 loss today. It’ll be interesting to see if the Padres try to ride the hot hand and keep him in the lineup on Monday. He hasn’t started three straight days at any point this season.

Fermin delivered a clutch hit in the seventh inning, taking Austin Warren deep for a two-run homer to give the Padres the lead in Saturday’s low-scoring affair. It was a timely first home run of the season for Fermin, who’s slashing .133/.231/.200 across 122 plate appearances.