{"id":506070,"date":"2026-03-05T23:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/506070\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T23:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:00:08","slug":"padres-freddy-fermin-ready-for-the-job-hes-always-prepared-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/506070\/","title":{"rendered":"Padres’ Freddy Fermin ready for the job he’s always prepared for"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 The offseason homes that Freddy Fermin and Salvador Perez keep in Broward County, Fla., are just 15 minutes apart. They train together ahead of spring training. They talk and text often. Anything that the future Hall-of-Famer has to say about Fermin\u2019s readiness as a full-time starter could have been passed along well before the two hugged at home plate in Surprise last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing really changes,\u201d Fermin, speaking through interpreter Jorge Merlos, said of his mentor\u2019s advice. \u201cIt\u2019s the same game. You\u2019ve prepared and whatever you\u2019ve learned throughout your career, you know what to do. It\u2019s the same thing. It\u2019s the same game, same baseball that you\u2019re going to go out there and play.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust keep doing your thing and you\u2019ll be able to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly time to find that out.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old Fermin is navigating his first spring training as an unquestioned starter after years as the No. 2 in Kansas City behind the 35-year-old Perez. Fermin had had spurts of starts throughout his stay with the Royals, showing Padres scouts and decision-makers enough to give up two premium assets at last year\u2019s trade deadline\u2014 more than 10 years of control of back-end starters in Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert \u2014 to make him the starting catcher for a playoff push.<\/p>\n

It was a show of faith that spurred on Fermin as he packed his bags for San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust grateful that this organization was able to see that in me and that they were watching me,\u201d Fermin said. \u201cBut I just come every day like I did in Kansas City, just willing to compete every day, willing to learn from my teammates, really willing to learn from this game as well \u2026 and willing to do to the best of my ability to go out there and compete with every guy out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move seemed to breathe new life into Fermin\u2019s season. His first 10 games in the Padres lineup \u2014 where he slashed .364\/.400\/.485 with a homer and five RBIs \u2014 mirrored some of his better stints filling in while Perez was injured, DHing or resting. But overall, Fermin\u2019s numbers in August (.621 OPS) and September (.611 OPS) ultimately came in below his numbers to start the year in Kansas City (.648 OPS).<\/p>\n

Fermin even acknowledged the toll it all had taken on him \u201cmentally and physically\u201d<\/a> as the calendar flipped to the final month of the season.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d certainly seen his fair share of playing time over long periods with the Royals \u2014 as many as 14 days in a row in 2024 \u2014 but learning a new organization and the 18 catchers he handled after the trade deadline is an entirely different kind of chore.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur system does have some different elements to it, but it was so impressive,\u201d Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla said. \u201cThe beginning, he would look into the dugout and (be like) \u2018Any thoughts?\u2019 trying to get my thoughts on some pitches. And then once we got into September, it was like, \u2018I got it.\u2019 (He) really did a nice job just overall learning each guy. And once he did that, it was much easier for him to navigate those games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Surprise,Surprise, AZ \u2013 February 21: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres warms up in between innings during a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals on February 21, 2026 in Surprise, AZ. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Fermin\u2019s days working alongside Perez provided the foundation for what he was about to take on in San Diego. He also leaned on Niebla, bullpen coach Ben Fritz, game planning assistant coach Peter Summerville and even previous starter El\u00edas D\u00edaz. While Fermin wasn\u2019t catching the rehabbing Joe Musgrove, the veteran right-hander was an additional Rosetta Stone for the division, the NL in general and even the psyches of the new pitchers throwing to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seeks out the information,\u201d Musgrove said. \u201cLike if they get in trouble, are they emotional guys? Do you need to go out and calm them down, or do you need to get on their (butts) and fire them up a little bit? \u2026 We heard from all the guys in Kansas City that reached out to me about him coming over about how good of a guy we got. He\u2019s a very engaging teammate. First thing he tells everybody is, \u2018I\u2019m here for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Peoria,Peoria, AZ \u2013 February 23: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres bats during a spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on February 23, 2026 in Peoria, AZ. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the job.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s one Fermin has always prepared for, even when he knew he\u2019d be second fiddle to one of the Royals\u2019 all-time greats.<\/p>\n

As such, Fermin said he didn\u2019t change much to his offseason preparation outside of some weight-lifting tweaks with an eye on endurance as he prepares to sit behind the plate more than ever. He certainly has goals as far as that\u2019s concerned, but Fermin, ever a team-first guy, lumps a lot of that in with what he hopes his new team accomplishes in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think personally, for me, I just want to have really good health all year, and a lot of blessings that will come down on me to have a successful year,\u201d he said. \u201cI think as a group, just really have a positive atmosphere within the clubhouse, like a good atmosphere within all of us, and I wish a lot of good health to my teammates and I hope that positivity continues on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 The offseason homes that Freddy Fermin and Salvador Perez keep in Broward County, Fla., are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2558,363,2328,99],"class_list":["post-506070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-latest-headlines","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}