Sam Huff is back on the open market after clearing waivers and turning down an outright assignment, with the Orioles announcing Thursday that the catcher has elected free agency.
It marks the second time Baltimore has designated the former Rangers top prospect for assignment since Opening Day. Huff could still circle back on another minor league deal, just as he did after the previous DFA, but the path to major league work in Baltimore is crowded. Adley Rutschman, Samuel Basallo and Chadwick Tromp are all healthy and currently on the Orioles’ major league roster.
The 28-year-old first joined the organization on a minor league contract in January, and since then his big league chances have been limited. He has been called up twice, but has appeared in only nine games total. Across 23 plate appearances, Huff went 4-for-23 with two singles and two doubles, struck out 11 times, and did not draw a walk.
His production at Triple-A Norfolk has also lagged. In 102 plate appearances for the Orioles’ affiliate, he hit .169/.275/.359 with a 37% strikeout rate.
That said, Huff’s track record is a little more encouraging than this season’s numbers suggest. In the majors, he owns a career .241/.292/.416 line with a 36.6% strikeout rate over 295 plate appearances. He has also logged parts of six Triple-A seasons, piling up 1302 plate appearances and batting .253/.333/.467 with 60 home runs.
Defensively, Huff usually grades well in framing, though blocking pitches in the dirt has been an issue. His work controlling the running game has improved, though, and his minor league caught-stealing rate sits at 30%, with a 21% mark in the majors.
He entered the 2025 season with just an 11% caught-stealing rate in the big leagues before posting a 29.2% mark last season with San Francisco. In his brief stint with Baltimore this year, he threw out two of four runners attempting to steal.
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