SAN DIEGO -- Padres catcher Freddy Fermin exited Wednesday’s game against the Mariners after taking a foul ball off his mask, but the team is hopeful he avoided a concussion.
Fermin, who was replaced behind the plate by Luis Campusano, was struck by a hard foul ball from Seattle leadoff man Brendan Donovan in the third inning of the Padres’ come-from-behind 7-6 victory at Petco Park. Manager Craig Stammen and a team trainer spent several minutes talking with Fermin, before he was removed from the game.
“Took him back, tested him, no concussion stuff going on,” Stammen said after the game. “But just a head contusion. It just feels like he got hit in the head. Luckily it’s not a concussion at this point. All the tests came back negative.”
Nonetheless, Stammen noted that Fermin’s status moving forward remains uncertain. The Padres will proceed with caution. Fermin has been struck with a small handful of foul balls in recent games. He will be reevaluated on Thursday, Stammen said.
If Fermin were to miss time, things could get tricky for the Padres, who are thin behind the plate and do not have another catcher on their 40-man roster besides Campusano.
Fermin has been stellar defensively this season, though he’s started slowly offensively. He’s hitting just .161 with a .496 OPS, having split time relatively evenly with Campusano.
Campusano, meanwhile, is off to a strong start to the 2026 season -- and contributed a crucial two-out single in the Padres’ five-run ninth-inning rally on Wednesday. He could see a marked uptick in playing time if Fermin is sidelined.
Rodolfo Duran, who homered on Wednesday and has a .772 OPS in 12 games with Triple-A El Paso this season, seems likeliest to get the call should Fermin land on the IL.