Catching depth matters a lot in Major League Baseball, even to the team with the best backstop in the game.
Following Cal Raleigh’s incredible season that saw him earn a second-place nod in Most Valuable Player voting, the Seattle Mariners have had a surprising amount of offseason transactions centered around the catching position.
Top prospect Harry Ford was traded to the Washington Nationals, Andrew Knizner came to the Mariners on a one-year contract, and Mitch Garver remains unsigned in free agency. But one more Mariners catcher found a new home this week, albeit one with less name recognition.
Blake Hunt signs with San Diego Padres
According to the official MLB transactions log, former Mariners free-agent catcher Blake Hunt signed a minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres. The deal was done on Tuesday, but the log first reflected the move on Thursday.
Hunt, 27, completed his second season in the Mariners organization after arriving in a January trade with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent the entire year at Triple-A Tacoma, and despite not earning a call up to play behind Raleigh in the majors, he hit well enough that the Padres might consider him for a major league role this year.
In 68 games, Hunt slashed .272/.368/.452 against Triple-A pitching, adding eight home runs, 35 RBIs, and 30 runs scored. He’s hit well in Triple-A in two of the last three seasons after a relatively slow start to his minor-league career.
The Padres were also the team that drafted Hunt in the second round out of his Southern California high school back in 2017. It would be a full-circle moment if he earned the shot to make his major league debut back in San Diego after playing for three other organizations.
Freddy Fermin projects to be the Padres’ starting catcher this year, but Hunt should have the chance to compete with Luis Campusano and Rodolfo Durán to be his backup in spring training, more signings notwithstanding.
