Orioles call up Sam Huff, add catching depth after Rutschman injury

Baltimore's catching crunch pushed Sam Huff onto the major-league roster and made the Orioles' priorities plain: protect the plate, keep the roster flexible, and survive the injury pileup that has already hit 11 players.

The Orioles selected Huff's contract from Triple-A Norfolk on April 15, before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, one day after Adley Rutschman went on the 10-day injured list with left ankle inflammation. Baltimore also designated left-hander Jayvien Sandridge for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot, a move that rippled beyond the bullpen and straight into the club's depth chart. With Rutschman out, the Orioles are now carrying three catchers in Huff, Samuel Basallo and Maverick Handley.

That is the part that matters. Baltimore did not bring Huff up just to fill space. The club needed another credible backstop because Basallo had already been used more at catcher in Rutschman's absence, and Handley was the other active-roster option. Basallo homered the night before the move, another reminder of why the Orioles still want his bat in the lineup even as they keep refining his work behind the plate. Manager Brandon Hyde has called him "a big target," and Baltimore's willingness to keep him catching, even with Huff added, says the organization is betting on flexibility over a neat, one-man solution.

Huff, 28, brings size and experience into that mix. The right-handed hitter, listed at 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds, had been in the Orioles' organization on a minor league deal and had already appeared for Norfolk before the promotion. His name is familiar enough to register, and Baltimore clearly valued having that kind of veteran catching depth available with Rutschman sidelined.

The move also hits Norfolk directly. Huff leaves Triple-A with his catching innings and at-bats, while Nick Raquet drops back to the Tides after a brief stay in Baltimore. Raquet, acquired from the Cardinals only a week earlier in exchange for Brayden Smith, allowed three runs in 1.2 innings over two appearances before being optioned. For Norfolk, that means one catcher out and one pitcher back in, a shuffle that changes who gets work every day at a level where playing time is the currency that matters most.

Baltimore's latest move was less about one injury than the accumulation of them. With the Orioles already stretched and Rutschman on the shelf, adding Huff was the practical answer and the blunt one: the club needed more catching insurance immediately, and Triple-A Norfolk was where it found it.