Freddy Antonio Fermín (born May 16, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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(MLB).

Career

Fermín signed with the

organization as an international free agent on July 25, 2015. He made his professional debut with the

Dominican Summer League Royals The Dominican Summer League Royals or DSL Royals are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica Northwest division and is affiliated with the Kansas City Royals. The DSL Royals1 won the organizati ...

the following year, hitting .273 across 52 contests. In 2017, Fermín played in 47 games for the rookie-level

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca ...

, slashing .282/.403/.356 with one home run and 39 RBI. He split the 2018 season between Idaho Falls and the rookie-level

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington I ...

, posting a cumulative .249/.346/.350 slash line with 2 home runs and 19 RBI. In 2019, Fermín split the season between the Single-A

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

and the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

, hitting .260/.298/.418 with career-highs in home runs (12) and RBI (41) in 86 games between the two affiliates. Fermín did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021 he spent time with Northwest Arkansas and the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

, batting .277/.355/.440 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 77 contests. He was assigned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2022 season. On July 14, 2022, Fermín was selected to the 40-man roster and called up to the majors for the first time after multiple players were placed on the restricted list prior to a series in Canada against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He made his MLB debut on July 15, ultimately appearing in 3 games but going hitless in 7 at-bats. He was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Omaha on July 17. On November 15, 2022, the Royals selected Fermín’s contract back to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

References

External links

1995 births Living people Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball catchers Kansas City Royals players Dominican Summer League Royals players Idaho Falls Chukars players Burlington Royals players Lexington Legends players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Salt River Rafters players Omaha Storm Chasers players {{Venezuela-baseball-catcher-stub