Freddy

Fermin

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.

Fermin missed the last two days after he was hit in the mask by a foul tip. The 30-year-old backstop will hit eighth and handle catching duties with Germán Márquez on the bump for San Diego.

Fermin exited Wednesday’s game after two innings. If he needs to miss a day or two, the Padres don’t really have any flexibility to call up a catcher without giving up on Nick Castellanos or Ty France. Their only position players with options are Jackson Merrill, Gavin Sheets and Fermin.

Fermin was replaced by Luis Campusano behind the plate after taking a foul tip off his catcher’s mask. The 30-year-old will undergo evaluation for a possible concussion. There should be an update on his status following the game.

Campusano hasn’t played since Monday, but he’ll be in the lineup with Freddy Fermin getting the day off. Ferming has gone just 1-for-14 with four strikeouts to start the season, which may be opening the door for Campusano to get more at-bats.

With the wind wreaking havoc in this one, the Padres totaled eight homers and the Mariners had four. San Diego also had nine doubles. The 69 balls in play produced 37 hits, plus a couple of errors. Pretty much every Padres regular was pulled after the team went ahead 17-2 in the top of third, though Fermin stayed in to catch Walker Buehler in the bottom of the inning.

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.