The Padres continued to make moves on Thursday ahead of the MLB trade deadline. And the Royals finally got on the board.
San Diego traded right-handed pitchers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to Kansas City in return for catcher Freddy Fermin, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported.
The Royals were in dire need of more pitching, especially after they recently lost starter Kris Bubic for the season with an injury. This hole in the pitching lineup caused the Royals to make somewhat unfortunate history on Wednesday by using nine pitchers in their shutout win over the Braves. The Padres landed two pitchers earlier on Thursday as they acquired closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher JP Sears from the Athletics in a trade.
Bergert is a rookie pitcher who's started in seven games and appeared in 11 for the Padres this season. He's posted a 2.78 ERA through 35.2 innings pitched. He's thrown 34 strikeouts, and he's had 24 hits and 11 runs on him.
Kolek is in his second season with the Padres and jumped up to the starting pitching lineup this year. He's started 14 games and posted a 4.18 ERA. Through 79.2 innings pitched, he's thrown 56 strikeouts and had 78 hits and 40 runs on him.
Fermin's spent his entire MLB career in Kansas City. Through 67 games this season, the catcher has 49 hits, 17 runs, 12 RBIs and three home runs. He's averaging .255/.309/.339. Fermin is expected to replace catchers Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado for the starting role.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Royals Send Catcher Freddy Fermin to Padres in Return for Two Much-Needed Pitchers.
