July 2015: The Royals signed Fermin as a free agent, out of Venezuela.

2023 Season: Rookie Freddy Fermin was excellent for the Royals.

If the Royals move on from Perez, the strength of what Fermin accomplished this year makes him the leading in-house candidate to take over behind the plate. His previous big league experience limited to just the seven at-bats in 2022. But in 2023, Fermin efficiently exploited the chance the Royals gave him when they called him up a month into the season.

He immediately stepped into the backup catching role some had expected MJ Melendez to at least partially fill and was manager Matt Quatraro's first choice to catch when Perez played first base, took his turns as the club's designated hitter, or simply took a day off. Fermin started 55 of the 70 games in which he played and, despite missing almost the entire final month of the season after fracturing a finger (and undergoing corrective surgery), finished with nine home runs, 32 RBIs, a .281 average, a 112 OPS+, and a 108 wRC+.

Fermin also fared well behind the plate, throwing out 31% of would-be base stealers, a mark 10% above league average.

All things considered, Fermin, who's under club control trough the 2028 season, played superbly this year and came close to being the Royals' best rookie of the campaign. We'll give him an A for 2023. (Mike Gillespie - Oct 14, 2023)

2024 Season: This was Fermin's first full season with Kansas City, and he made a larger impact than most backup catcher's in MLB.

Fermin recorded several career highs in 2024, such as his 111 appearances and 92 hits, but some of his rates were among the AL's best. His .271 batting average tied for third-best among AL catchers, while his 41.7% caught stealing rate led MLB catchers by a wide margin. Upon initial inspection, Fermin's 2024 season should not be included in this list. But a stone-cold ending to the season cast doubts on his dependability and may hinder his overall trade value.

Once August began, Fermin's bat cooled off immensely. He posted a 43 wRC+ for the rest of the season, trailing behind highly criticized players like Hunter Renfroe, Maikel Garcia, and Adam Frazier. Fermin wasn't known for hitting the ball hard, but a sharp uptick in his groundballs pulled his batting average down, and he didn't have enough extra-base hits to outweigh those routine plays. Things only got worse for Fermin in September, as he hit .154 in the season's final month.

If Fermin had carried pre-August .304/.354/.441 slash line to the season's end, he would have been one of the league's best performers. Catchers are not known for their offensive contributions, rather helping with their glove and arm. In fact, the position has only posted an average or great wRC+ four times — 1871, 1872, 1877, 1879. Not a great track record.

So, Fermin's role as the backup behind Perez and a well above-average batter could have made him a very enticing trade chip this offseason. Kansas City could have made him the primary player in adding a starting outfielder or restocking the farm's upper levels. Now, he ended the season as a marginally below average batter and showed how quickly he can go cold at the plate. No team is going to make a meaningful trade for a player of that caliber, and the Royals need all the meaningful trades they can get right now.  (Jacob Milham - Dec 14, 2024)

Dec 29, 2025 Breakout candidate in 2026 for the Padres:  C Freddy Fermin.

There are a whole bunch of prospects and young players on this list. Fermin, a catcher entering his age-31 season, doesn’t exactly fit the prototype. But, at long last, Fermin figures to be presented with the role of primary backstop, after he’d split time with Salvador Perez for years in Kansas City. With a full Spring Training under his belt, Fermin could serve as an anchor for what figures to be a new-look rotation. Not to mention, there’s some promise in his bat as well. (AJ Cassavell - MLB.com - Dec 29, 2025)

TRANSACTIONS

2022 Season: Fermín belted 15 homers and slashed .270/.365/.480 in 87 games at Triple-A Omaha.

Sept 9-Nov 2, 2023: Freddy was on the IL with left middle finger fracture. Fermin fractured his finger on a catcher’s interference play against the Blue Jays.

Fermin underwent surgery to address a fractured right middle finger.