After being traded from the Kansas City Royals midway through 2025, Freddy Fermin is gearing up for his first full season behind the plate for the brown and gold.

It’s the Venezuelan’s first shot at starting as primary catcher for any team since his MLB debut with the Royals in July 2022. Fermin began appearing consistently in the majors in 2023, but was always second fiddle to Kansas’s team captain, Salvador Perez.

Fermin agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million contract with the Padres in January, thus avoiding salary arbitration, after being traded to the Padres at the end of July.

“[Fermin was] a little bit under the radar, A.J. Preller told 97.3 The Fan after the trade. “He’s a two-way player, fits what we’re doing and from a makeup standpoint, it’s an A+  report.”

In 42 games with the Padres last season, Fermin recorded a .244/.278/.339 slash line – not record-breaking, but certainly nothing to sneeze at. He was reliable behind the plate, if nothing else, and was the sigh of relief the Padres needed after struggling to find a solid backstop between Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado.

When Fermin did perform last season, it was loud. Two months into his tenure with the Padres, Fermin fired the walk-off single in the 11th inning of the Padres’ matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers. The subsequent 5-4 victory clinched a spot in the playoffs for San Diego for the fourth time in six years.

“That moment – that’s special,” Fermin said after the win back on Sep. 22, 2025. “I put the swing [that] put my team in the postseason.”

With a full spring season to warm up for opening day on March 26, this is Fermin’s chance to solidify his role on a potentially division-winning team. He proved his adaptability after last season’s sudden bullpen switch, a trait that will be key in handling the Padres’ elusive pitching rotation.

As of Wednesday, the first official workout for the Padres’ bullpen, locked in as potential starters are Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivettam and Michael King. Randy Vásquez is also likely to make the roster, coming off a strong 2025 with a 3.84 ERA. But with Musgrove returning from Tommy John surgery and King dealing with nerve and knee issues last season, health always remains a question mark.

Combined with the four other contenders for a spot on the rotation – JP Sears, Matt Waldron, Triston McKenzie, and Marco Gonzales – Fermin will have plenty to get used to.

It’s a pretty common consensus that Fermin would be better as a 1A catcher, and Preller seems set on relying on their current rotation.

“What we have with the group that’s in here competing – Fermin, [Luis] Campusano, [Blake] Hunt, [Rodolfo] Durán– I think that’s probably our catching group,” Preller told 97.3 The Fan today.

“To go sign a catcher and move Campusano into a DH type spot, it’s not a zero, but we had more opportunity to do that throughout the offseason,” Preller continued.

AJ Preller was asked how he views the Padres’ catchers and if he could possibly add to that group: pic.twitter.com/d1Bxywo6kn

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 12, 2026

Campusano’s offense was a force to be reckoned with in the minors, batting .336 in the Triple A last season. However, he hasn’t had a break through the majors, appearing in just 10 games in 2025 with no hits.

This will also be chance for Hunt and Durán to find time behind the plate for the first time in the majors. Hunt has a .245/.324/.398 slash line across eight years in the minors, while Durán has a career .255/.302/.436 over 10 years.

With the rest of the catchers lacking in big league experience, this could be Fermin’s time to emerge as a leader. At this point, only time will tell if the catcher will take on the 130 starts.