Royals trade fan favorite Freddy Fermin to land two much needed arms from Padres

The adage “better late than never” applies to many aspects of life—and it certainly applies to how the Kansas City Royals have approached the trade deadline in recent years. Royals fans were sweating on social media as blockbuster deals rolled in from around the league, especially from AL Wild Card contenders like the Seattle Mariners.

Kansas City had holes to fill and on Thursday afternoon, found a dance partner in the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of a fan favorite in homegrown catcher Freddy Fermin.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the deal, with Fermin heading to the NL West club after an already busy day for the Padres’ front office. But the Royals didn’t part ways with Fermin for a bag of balls—instead, they received two right-handed starting pitchers in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek.

Freddy Fermin's time in a Royals uniform has come to an end while Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek's are just beginning

Bergert is arguably the prize of the return. The 25-year-old Ohio native was ranked a top-10 Padres prospect by MLB Pipeline and has looked the part of a rotation piece in 2025. In 11 appearances (seven starts), Bergert owns a 2.78 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 35 2/3 innings.

While he opened the year with single-inning outings, his early-June recall from Triple-A coincided with a move to the starting rotation. He’s handled some of the NL’s best lineups, including a seven-strikeout outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 11 and a two-hit, one-run showing versus the New York Mets on July 29.

Kolek, 28, is the more experienced arm of the duo, with 56 games (14 starts) across the past two seasons. He pitched exclusively in relief for San Diego in his 2024 rookie campaign but shifted into a starting role this year.

The results are solid for a back-end rotation arm—he’s posted a 4.18 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across 79.2 innings. Twelve of his 14 starts have gone at least five innings, including a complete-game shutout against Colorado on May 10. "Innings eater" isn’t the sexiest label, but with Kris Bubic, Michael Lorenzen, and Cole Ragans on the shelf, Kansas City simply needs arms.

Fermin, meanwhile, carved out a valuable role in Kansas City as the club’s backup catcher. The 30-year-old Venezuelan brought energy, a “dawg” mentality, and reliable defense behind the plate.

While his bat has dipped to a career-worst 78 wRC+ in 2025, he still provides more production than San Diego’s current options—Elias Díaz (67 wRC+) and former Royal Martín Maldonado (62 wRC+). Fermin’s game-calling and defensive chops make him a meaningful upgrade, even beyond the box score.

What Royals fans have to appreciate about this deal is that it wasn’t a salary dump or a return of lottery tickets. Bergert and Kolek have shown flashes of success in the big leagues and are both under long-term control, with multiple minor league options remaining.

Losing the “Ferminator” stings, but the deal adds two MLB-ready arms to a pitching staff desperately in need of help. With 53 games left, this move makes Kansas City better today—and that’s what deadline deals are supposed to do.