With 20-20 hindsight, the San Diego Padres might want a mulligan on the 2025 trade deadline. In separate transactions, they traded minor league catcher Brandon Valenzuela to the Toronto Blue Jays, and acquired veteran backstop Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals.
Valenzuela was a 2-WAR player in only 91 games for the Blue Jays as a rookie backup to Alejandro Kirk in 2026. Meanwhile, Fermin played 96 games, accrued 1 WAR and did nothing at the plate (.203/.274/.315) to take playing time from Luis Campusano or, in September, Ethan Salas.
On Wednesday, Fermin was announced as one of three finalists for a National League Gold Glove Award. More than boosting his standing on the Padres' depth chart, winning a Gold Glove Award might merely increase Fermin's trade stock.
Why trade Fermin? As president of baseball operations A.J. Preller looks ahead to the 2027 season, the Padres' roster is suddenly deeper at catcher than perhaps anywhere else in the lineup.
The idea of trading a catcher to bolster the Padres' depth in their starting rotation, outfield or first base isn't a bad one. Campusano and Salas look like a tandem that can play well in 2027 and beyond. Having a veteran backup — even one with Fermin's ability to call a game and block a pitch — is more of a luxury than a necessity if Salas and Campusano are healthy.
First baseman Ty France is a free agent on the heels of a career-best 21-homer season, and might find more money somewhere outside San Diego. Left fielder Samad Taylor was a good find, but the Padres can't count on a full season of .316/.390/.408 hitting from a player with 38 games of experience prior to his 2026 breakthrough.
The Padres' rotation presents an even more pressing need. The two pitchers Preller traded to the Kansas City Royals (Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert) both finished the 2026 season on the 60-day injured list with elbow issues. Even with a mulligan, Preller wouldn't call the Royals to take the two pitchers back.
But if Fermin's trade value hasn't meaningfully dipped over the last year and a half in San Diego, the trade provides a useful template. Pending free agents Michael King (if he opts out of his contract as expected), Walker Buehler, Casey Mize and Robbie Ray can deplete four-fifths of the Padres' season-ending rotation if they sign elsewhere.
Re-signing all four pitchers is not realistic. Even if they exhaust their budget just to re-sign King — the best pitcher in the group — the Padres will need to fill a couple other rotation holes. Trading Fermin could help.
Even if the Padres only trade Fermin for minor-league players who haven't realized their full potential, their lack of organizational depth at multiple positions was a major issue at times in 2026. Their farm system ranked 30th out of 30 in ESPN's latest rankings, suggesting Preller might want to take the best deal he can get for any kind of near-MLB-ready help. Fermin might be his best trade chip.
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