Orioles find a trade partner for recently DFA'd catcher Blake Hunt

Earlier this week, the Orioles DFA'd minor league catcher Blake Hunt in order to make room on the 40-man roster for right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge. The bullpen specialist was signed to a one-year deal, which was made official this week, and he'll likely slot in just ahead of Felix Bautista in the Orioles' bullpen heading into 2025.

It wasn't clear a couple days ago, but we now know that Hunt won't be sticking around in Baltimore after the DFA. Hunt spent just over 4 months with the Orioles in 2024, spending the vast majority of that time at Triple-A Norfolk. He had a brief stint in High-A Aberdeen, and did get a call-up to Baltimore after James McCann took a fastball off the nose, but Hunt never appeared in a game with the Orioles. It's a shame, as it would have been his major league debut.

Now, Hunt will in fact be heading back to the team the Orioles acquired him from in the first place. In May of 2024, the Orioles traded Mike Baumann and Michael Pérez to the Mariners in exchange for Hunt. While Pérez never appeared in a game with the M's, Baumann threw 16.1 ineffective innings out of the Seattle bullpen before getting shipped out of town.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Orioles were sending Hunt back to the Mariners, this time in exchange for cash considerations. Considering that Hunt was on a minor league contract, it isn't expected that the Orioles will receive a significant sum of money in return.

Orioles send catcher Blake Hunt to Seattle for cash considerations

It's unsurprising that the Orioles weren't able to get much in return for the career minor leaguer. He hit so poorly after being acquired by the O's in early 2024 that it's almost a wonder that he made it through the entire year without getting dumped.

It was a major downturn for Hunt, who had been stellar in limited time in his first two months at Tacoma, which is Seattle's Triple-A club. He posted a .905 OPS in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League, albeit in just 24 games. But after joining the Orioles, his OPS dropped to a paltry .497, and his 31.3% strikeout rate was his highest mark at any level since 2021.

It would be unfortunate for the Orioles if Hunt is able to get back on track in his return to Seattle. Just about everyone has their slumps and Hunt clearly had an extended one, for whatever reason, during his time with Baltimore. The O's will just have to chalk it up as a loss and move on.