PHOENIX -- JP Sears has been dealt at the Trade Deadline before. Just over three years to the day of his Padres debut, Sears was part of a prospect package that the Yankees sent to the Athletics. So schlepping his things and taking off to meet new teammates in a new place isn’t a completely new feeling.
But this time around, Sears is part of the “buyer” side of the equation. In the span of a week, he went from a club in last place to a club in the thick of a National League pennant chase. Making his Padres debut Monday night in a 6-2 loss to the D-backs at Chase Field, he was knocked around for five runs across five frames and tied a career high with 10 hits allowed.
Yet there were positives to take away. Working with a taxed bullpen, Sears was able to give the Padres some semblance of length, even as the bats remained quiet behind him.
“He's a real competitor,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “He wanted to go out for as long as he could, as far as he could. So really, really respect the way he competed.”
Reality of new faces, new places
By August, pitchers and catchers are usually in lockstep, able to anticipate each other’s next move. But in the case of Sears and Freddy Fermin, both acquired within the past week, it meant a pregame cram session.
Every start is particularly difficult for Fermin, who was with the same organization for almost exactly 10 years. There are countless nuances that fall under the catcher’s responsibility beyond just making the chest protector tight. The 30-year-old has had to learn new PitchCom terms, the sequencing of a whole new staff and where each of those hurlers likes him to set up. Shildt was quick to point out that Fermin has jumped in feet first, already leading meetings during his first few days with the club.
“He did a great job communicating before the game,” Sears said of Fermin. “He's a great receiver back there, and we had a good game plan going in. That’s something that I think will continue to get better as we work more.”
Cracks in first-inning splendor
Sears has been dominant during the first inning throughout 2025. Entering the night, batters were hitting just .149 against him in the opening frame. He had allowed just two runs in 22 appearances (0.82 ERA). But an uber-aggressive D-backs lineup -- stacked with right-handed hitters -- jumped on him for three hits and a run, something of a precursor for things to come.
Few pitchers across the Majors have been as stingy out of the gates as Sears. His first-inning ERA, now 1.17, trails only the Mets’ David Peterson among qualified left-handed pitchers. The only hurlers with a better BAA are a veritable who’s who of Cy Young Award contenders, including Zack Wheeler, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Jacob deGrom.
When the sweeper won’t sweep
Sears has a diverse arsenal, spinning through six types of pitches with varying levels of frequency. Statcast credits him with throwing a sinker -- a pitch he says is a two-seamer -- which he has used at a diminished rate in 2025, throwing it just 5.8% of the time entering the night (10.7% last year). But in his first collaboration with Fermin, he went to it nine times (9.6 %) -- six against left-handed batters after throwing it only 19 times to a lefty in his first 22 starts.
His best pitch -- by a considerable margin -- is his sweeper. And it’s among the best in baseball. Entering Monday, it had an 8 run value, making it tied for fourth-best in the Majors alongside Wheeler. Looking up at Sears on that leaderboard is Skenes, a feather in your cap whenever you can hold it.
But despite it serving as Sears’ bread and butter, it got creamed Monday. He got just one whiff on 11 swings with it, and it’s also the offering that D-backs first baseman Tyler Locklear parked for a home run, marking the fifth consecutive outing with a long ball allowed for Sears, the first time that has happened since April 2023.
Sears will hold a rotation spot down the stretch, as the Padres could potentially get creative with a six-man starting staff as they attempt to chase their first NL West crown since 2006. Shildt said pregame that Michael King, who has been on the injured list since May 25, is in “dark pencil” for his next start to be in the Majors, possibly this upcoming weekend at Petco Park vs. the Red Sox.
“It's exciting being here and exciting to play playoff baseball potentially, [with] that being the goal of it all,” said Sears.