Freddy Fermin had absorbed his fare share of foul balls off his mask of late, the last forcing him from Wednesday’s game in the third inning. The Padres, however, were hopeful he’d avoid the concussion list after he passed tests on Wednesday and Fermin passed another on Thursday morning.
He woke up refreshed after a sound night of sleep.
“All good, Fermin said at his locker Thursday afternoon. “I woke up this morning and everything normal. No more pressure in my head and everything else good.”
As such, the plan is Fermin to be available off the bench for Thursday’s 5:40 p.m. start against the Seattle Mariners. The Padres fetched a contingency plan from Round Rock, Texas, pulling catcher Rodolfo Duran up from Triple-A El Paso and onto the taxi squad, but they continue to believe that Fermin dodged a bullet.
“(He) came out of it pretty good, not feeling too bad last night, just kind of had what we call a head contusion,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “So it’s a little sore, but concussion tests, all that stuff, came back negative today, feeling even better, feels normal. So available for the game today.”
As for Duran’s presence after he was pulled late from El Paso’s game on Wednesday in Round Rock, Stammen said, “Freddy could go out here, take BP, have a headache and then all that kind of changes. So we have him just in case of an emergency.”
All that said, Luis Campusano will start behind the plate as he has all season with Walker Buehler. He’ll also bat eighth, between designated hitter Miguel Andujar and second baseman Jake Cronenworth in the first lineup that Stammen has repeated this season in 19 games.
Thursday night baseball. pic.twitter.com/f68pBDUHEJ
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 16, 2026
The Padres (12-6) are looking to extend their winning streak to eight games, which would be their longest since Sept. 13-22 in 2023 after their playoff hopes had been all but dashed.
Here is how the Mariners (8-11), the defending Vedder Cup champions, will line up as they look to avoid a sweep:
One more for the road. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/L04nk66LDr
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 16, 2026
Thursday’s pitching matchup
Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (0-0, 6.92 ERA)
Right-handed hitters have a .985 OPS so far against Castillo. He has allowed 10 earned runs over his last two starts (7 IP) after opening the season with seven strikeouts over six shutout innings. Castillo has a 3.71 ERA over nine career starts against the Padres. He allowed five runs in five innings in a no-decision last year.
Here is how Castillo has fared against current Padres:
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (0-1, 4.97 ERA)
He needed just 68 pitches to get through six shutout innings in his last start. He struck out four and did not walk a batter after walking five through his first two starts (6⅔ IP). Buehler has a 7.08 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners, including two since his Tommy John surgery (7 ⅓ IP, 11 ER).
Here is how Buehler has fared against current Mariners:
