Due to MLB rule oddity, Royals catcher Freddy Fermin played second base Saturday
The Royals had a comfortable eight-run lead in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the Dodgers, so manager Matt Quatraro made a few changes.
John Rave had pinch hit for shortstop Maikel Garcia in the bottom of the eighth inning, so Rave took over in left field. Drew Waters moved from left to center field in place of Kyle Isbel, for whom Tyler Tolbert had pinch-hit.
Replacing Garcia at shortstop was Tolbert, and the new pitcher was Sam Long. But while Long was warming up, a chaotic scene unfolded on the infield.
Second baseman Jonathan India felt a bit unsteady and left the game. Quatraro decided to move Tolbert to second and have Bobby Witt Jr., who was the designated hitter, play shortstop.
Witt trotted on the field but then retreated to the dugout. He wasn’t allowed to play shortstop because of an MLB rule and quirky timing.
“India was a little bit dizzy being in the heat, you know, little bit dehydrated, probably,” Quatraro explained after the game. “But because I didn’t know that prior to putting Sam Long in the game, if Sam Long had not taken the mound yet, I could have put Bobby in and lost the DH. But because Sam had already gone in the game, then we had to put a position player in rather than the DH.”
That’s odd timing, right? If Long wasn’t already warming up, then Quatraro could have used Witt. Instead, Fermin got the call.
Although he didn’t have an official fielding chance, Fermin did take a throw from Waters after a Enrique Hernández single.
A reporter jokingly asked Quatraro if Fermin is the emergency second baseman.
“He’s played some infield in his past,” Quatraro said. “You know, most catchers play some first and third in the minor leagues. And he’s taking ground balls. Everybody thinks they can play the infield.”
FanDuel Sports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg reported that Fermin used teammate Maikel Garcia’s glove.
If you play the Immaculate Grid game on Baseball Reference, keep Fermin’s appearance at second base in mind. Fermin has appeared in 203 career games at catcher and one at second base.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 8:58 AM.
