The San Diego Padres made the most shocking trade in recent memory on Thursday morning, acquiring RHP Mason Miller and LHP J.P. Sears from the Athletics in a package that includes Leodalis De Vries, the No. 3 overall prospect in MLB. Now GM A.J. Preller is back on the prowl, going all-in on a Padres postseason push.
San Diego has traded for Kansas City Royals C Freddy Fermin, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. RHP Ryan Bergert, the Padres' No. 7 prospect, and RHP Stephen Kolek will go to Kansas City to complete the deal.
The San Diego Padres are acquiring catcher Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Ryan Bergert, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025
This addresses San Diego's well-documented need at catcher. It also gives the Royals two young MLB arms to invest in, a huge victory for that front office. Fermin has been solid behind Salvador Perez this season, batting .255 with a .648 OPS and three home runs in 192 at-bats.
Perhaps most notable, however, is what this trade means for Dylan Cease.
Padres' Freddy Fermin trade all but guarantees Dylan Cease will stick around
This is a wild trade, to be clear. Is Fermin better than Edwin Díaz or Martín Maldonado? Absolutely. This helps the Padres get better in the short term. But Kolek has 14 MLB starts under his belt this season; Bergert, only 25, has made 11 big-league appearances, including seven starts, and felt like a lock for the Padres' full-time rotation in 2026.
The Padres are getting two controllable starters for a backup catcher. Fermin is still under team control through 2029, so this is a long-term investment in its own right. But he's also 30, with serious offensive concerns. The defense is solid, but he's not a whiz behind the plate like Maldonado. Diaz was an All-Star just last season. Such a light upgrade at such a steep price does not fully compute.
San Diego has cleaned out its farm system over the last few hours for a dominant closer, a fifth starter type and a perfectly adequate catcher who will probably bat ninth. Mason Miller is sick and Fermin was a fan favorite in Kansas City, but the Padres are operating irresponsibly.
With two starting pitchers out the door in the Fermin trade — and even more dealt away today — it's hard to imagine San Diego following through on Dylan Cease trade buzz. They need bullets and Cease remains one of their best arms as this team pursues a World Series berth.
Padres' aggressive trade deadline can only have one acceptable outcome
If the Padres don't topple the Dodgers and win the World Series this season, what is this all for? Miller will stick around, but he's a closer through and through. Fermin will stick around, but Cease is a free agent. San Diego probably can't pay him. If he leaves, a handful of potential in-house replacements are no longer with the organization.
Preller's guts are admirable. A lot of GMs could stand to adopt maybe 80 percent of his all-in attitude. But there's a fine line between aggression and recklessness, and Preller appears to be leaning toward the latter right now.