The Royals promoted Fermin to the major leagues in 2022. He was entrenched as KC’s backup catcher for the last three seasons. Last season, he was a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and has drawn praise as a top defensive catcher.

The San Diego Padres, having already completed a deadline-day blockbuster with the Athletics on Thursday for closer Mason Miller, finalized a trade to acquire catcher Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals. In exchange, the Padres are surrendering right-handers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek.

Who saw this trade coming? Freddy Fermin wasn’t exactly at the top of anyone’s trade speculation list, but here we are. The Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres decided to spice up the deadline with a move that has baseball fans analyzing every angle.