Inside The Orioles

Baltimore Orioles Trade DFA'd Catcher Back to Seattle Mariners

The Baltimore Orioles have sent a minor league catcher back to the Seattle Mariners, after acquiring him from them last season.
Dylan Sanders|
Mar 6, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Blake Hunt (77) throws to the pitcher during the second inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium.
Mar 6, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Blake Hunt (77) throws to the pitcher during the second inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles pulled off a trade on Wednesday afternoon, sending a player back to the team they acquired him from just a few months ago and just a few days after designating him for assignment.

Roch Kubatko of MASN reported the news that the Orioles would be sending catcher Blake Hunt to the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations.

The Mariners had traded Hunt to Baltimore back in May in exchange for fellow catcher Michael Perez and right-handed pitcher Mike Baumann. It ended up being quite the inconsequential trade.

The 26-year-old catcher had already been designated for assignment on Monday to make room on the 40-man roster after the Orioles signed right-handed pitcher Andrew Kitteredge.

In the 42 games that he played for Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides, Hunt had posted just a .179/.219/.278 slash line. It is not surprise he was one of the first players on the chopping block to make room for new signings.

He had shown some promise earlier in his career, but just hit a very bad stretch after the trade.

As for the players the Orioles sent over in the original deal, Seattle had not gotten much better results.

Perez posted a .177/.300/.392 slash line over 16 games before being released. He signed a new deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but has since elected free agency.

Baumann had a similar fate.

He made a few appearances in the Majors but struggled. He then found himself jumping between different squads before hitting free agency once again.

He has since signed in Japan, with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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