Catcher Sam Huff has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com. The Orioles designated Huff for assignment last week. He had the option to elect free agency as someone who’d been outrighted before, though he’ll instead remain in the Orioles organization as non-roster depth.
Huff has batted .121/.147/.182 in 34 scattered plate appearances this year, striking out in 19 of them. He’s taken only 306 trips to the plate dating back to 2020, with a career line of .232/.284/.401, 12 home runs, and a 90 wRC+. The Orioles brought him in on a minor league pact in January as a depth piece behind Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. Huff saw his contract selected from Norfolk in mid-April and early June. Both times, he was designated for assignment after short stints in the majors, eventually electing free agency and rejoining on new minor league deals.
Huff will bypass that process this time around and remain in the organization via the outright. On paper, the Orioles have one of the stronger catching tandems in the league with Rutschman and Basallo. However, they’ve both been on the injured list for almost two weeks, Rutschman for left wrist inflammation and Basallo for right shoulder inflammation. The club is reportedly “open-minded” about buying or selling at the deadline, as well as the possibility of trading Rutschman. He is controlled through 2027, so a trade isn’t especially likely, especially since the Orioles will try to contend next year.
The team is currently using Jake Rogers and Yohel Pozo behind the plate. Rogers is a free agent after the season, while Pozo hasn’t hit well in limited action and could ultimately be designated for assignment. Regardless of whether a Rutschman trade materializes, there’s some logic to Huff staying in the organization as depth and waiting for a callup in the event of an injury, in keeping with that pattern from earlier in the year.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
