Padres Acquire Freddy Fermin from Royals

By Fabian Garcia

The Padres Acquire Catcher Freddy Fermin From The Royals

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

July 31, 2025

The San Diego Padres have agreed to a deal with the Kansas City Royals to acquire catcher Freddy Fermin in exchange for right-handers Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert.

In parallel to AJ Preller’s blockbuster trade with the Athletics Thursday morning, the Padres are making massive moves to beef up their offensive lineup with a new catcher, Freddy Fermin. However, in return, the Padres will give up two of their main starters this year.

What The Padres Gave Up To The Royals

Kolek and Bergert have held the Padres’ pitching staff together this season while Michael King and Yu Darvish have spent a majority of the year on the Injured List.

Bergert, 25, who started the season as a reliever before becoming a starter in June, allowed no runs across his four appearances as a reliever. Across his seven starts, Bergert pitched 31 2/3 innings and recorded a 3.13 ERA.

Kolek, 28, has a similar story, as he was a reliever in 2024 before he became a starter in 2025. Across his 14 starts this year, he’s gone 4–5 with a 4.18 ERA.

What the Padres Acquire From the Royals

Freddy Fermin, 30, is slashing .255/.209/.339 this season with three home runs and 12 RBI in his 192 at-bats. However, what’s more likely is that the Padres are looking for a better catcher than a better hitter. Fermin is currently at a 1.3 dWAR according to Baseball Reference. This is nearly an entire game above replacement catchers Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado’s dWAR combined. In addition, Fermin has four more years of arbitration eligibility before he becomes a free agent in 2030.

This, in addition to Thursday’s trade with the Athletics, shows Preller’s trade strategy this year, while still aggressive, is more focused on longevity. The Padres are just inches away from securing the NL West Division title and are third in the NL Wild card.