Royals reacted with sadness, excitement over popular departure, says insider

While the Kansas City Royals are still trying to turn their deadline deals into a run to the playoffs, there's one departure that continues to get quite a bit of focus.

When the club traded away catcher Freddy Fermin, it didn't just mark the loss of their backup catcher, it meant that they traded someone whose value in the clubhouse outweighed his value on the field. And now one insider is sharing exactly how his former teammates reacted to the trade to the San Diego Padres.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com recently did a Reddit AMA where she answered several questions. Because Fermin has long been a team and fan favorite, one of those questions was just how the other Royals players reacted to his trade. Rogers responded that people were sad to see him go, but felt like the move was the best for him.

Kansas City Royals players split how reaction to Freddy Fermin's trade to San Diego Padres

"Trading Freddy was hard for everyone involved. In the clubhouse, there was a mix of sadness of having to say goodbye while understanding the move and that this is a business," Rogers wrote.

"I also think there was a lot of excitement about what it means for Freddy: Going to San Diego means he's going to get a chance to be a starting catcher, addressing what was a major weakness for the Padres," she also wrote.

Rogers also said that Fermin's development and the way he's helped mentor other Royals players played a big part in the trade.

"It says a lot about Freddy's growth, as well as the mentorship of Salvador Perez and bench coach Paul Hoover, that the Padres were targeting Freddy and gave up what they did for him. There's no doubt the clubhouse misses him, though," Rogers wrote.

Before the deal, the 30-year-old was having a below average season at the dish, slashing .255/.309/.339 with a 78 wRC+, but was held up by some average to slightly above average defensive metrics to ensure he remained a positive fWAR player - sporting a 0.4 fWAR before heading to the Padres.

However, the former Kansas City Royals backstop has seemingly enjoyed the move to San Diego, considering he's slashing .438/.500/.500 in his first five games with his new club.