Orioles can't quit Sam Huff, even while DFA'ing him again

MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the move Monday: the Orioles designated Sam Huff for assignment, ending his latest stint in Baltimore after just 14 games. It's the kind of transaction that would barely register if it weren't Huff's third DFA with the organization this year alone, a revolving door that says as much about the Orioles' catching crisis as it does about Huff himself.

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Orioles Designate Sam Huff For Assignment t.co/39sSDM7GUs

The numbers explain why. In his brief run with the big-league club, Huff slashed a brutal.121/.147/.182 across 34 plate appearances, striking out 19 times, a 55.9% rate that's tough to survive at any level. He closed out the stint on an 0-for-16 skid with 11 strikeouts, the kind of freefall that makes a roster spot impossible to justify no matter how thin your depth chart is.

That thinness is the real story here. Baltimore's top two catchers, Adley Rutschman (wrist) and Samuel Basallo (shoulder inflammation), are both out, which is exactly why Huff kept getting recycled back onto the roster in the first place. Every time he's been cut loose this season he's elected free agency and re-signed with the Orioles on a minor-league deal, only to get another shot when the injury situation forces their hand.

This time his replacement is Yohel Pozo, whom Baltimore claimed off waivers from the Cardinals just last week. Pozo isn't exactly a offensive juggernaut either, but he brings a dramatically better strikeout rate, 12.6% for his career against Huff's 37.9%, which at this point is basically the entire pitch. When your catching room is this banged up, contact skills start to matter more than power upside.

Whether Huff sticks around the organization for a fourth act is anyone's guess, but the pattern suggests he probably will. Baltimore keeps needing warm bodies behind the plate, and Huff keeps being willing to take a minor-league deal to stay in the mix. Until Rutschman and Basallo are both healthy, don't be shocked if this DFA carousel spins at least one more time before the trade deadline settles the position for good.