Orioles catcher Sam Huff elects free agency after clearing waivers

Baltimore has made a roster change at the catcher position by letting Sam Huff step into free agency after he cleared waivers. The move followed Huff’s recent designation for assignment, which placed him in the same waiver-removal process that can either lead to a claim by another club, an outright assignment to the minors, or, if the player elects it, free agency.

The Orioles had previously designated Huff for assignment earlier this spring, according to reporting summarized by MLB Trade Rumors. Thursday’s outcome continued that pattern: the catcher went unclaimed, then rejected an outright assignment in favor of negotiating elsewhere. Multiple reports indicated the election to free agency happened after he was removed from the 40-man roster and cleared outright waivers.

Huff’s time with Baltimore has been limited in the majors, even though his career batting line is more productive than his recent results. He has appeared in only nine MLB games across two brief stints, totaling 23 plate appearances. In those opportunities, he went 4-for-23, with two singles and two doubles, and struck out 11 times without drawing a walk, numbers that have not helped his cause for a stable roster spot.

In Triple-A, Huff’s 2026 production has also lagged. As reported by MLB Trade Rumors, he has slashed.169/.275/.359 with a 37% strikeout rate in 102 plate appearances for Norfolk, the Orioles’ top affiliate. Those figures matter because catcher spots on a 40-man roster are often secured by a mix of defensive reliability, durability, and at least baseline offensive value.

The back half of the evaluation is more complicated. MLB Trade Rumors described Huff as a catcher who typically earns solid framing marks, while also struggling at times with blocking balls in the dirt. It also noted defensive improvements around the running game, including a 30% caught-stealing mark in the minors and a 21% caught-stealing mark in the majors, though the latter has not separated him enough to outweigh offensive inconsistency at the time of these roster decisions.

Offensively, Huff has shown a longer track record that better aligns with a contingency plan than an everyday starter profile. MLB Trade Rumors cited a lifetime major-league line of.241/.292/.416 across 295 plate appearances, along with a 36.6% strikeout rate. At Triple-A level, the same reporting put him at a.253/.333/.467 slash with 60 home runs over 1,302 plate appearances across six seasons.

For Baltimore, the immediate implication is that Huff is no longer an option on the 40-man roster unless he returns on a new minor league agreement, a path that has been available to him previously. For other clubs, free agency creates an opportunity to look for a depth catcher with both major-league exposure and a history of at least competent minor-league offense, even if his most recent stretch has been challenging. What to watch next is whether the Orioles re-sign him to the minors, or whether another organization brings him into a new depth mix and gives him a fresh chance to climb back onto a major-league roster.