The Baltimore Orioles made their agreement with reliever Andrew Kittredge official on Monday, signing him to a reported one-year, $10 million deal after he passed a physical.
That meant Baltimore had to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate him and they designated catcher Blake Hunt for assignment.
Hunt joined the Orioles last May when he was traded from Seattle in a deal that netted the Mariners Mike Baumann and Michael Pérez. He was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
With Baltimore, he was promoted to the Majors for the first time in his career, but the 26-year-old didn’t play. He was promoted on July 30 and optioned back to Norfolk the next day.
With the Tides he batted .179 with three home runs and seven RBI.
The Orioles have Adley Rutschman as a starting catcher and signed Gary Sanchez to a one-year deal to back him up. Baltimore also has one of the best hitting catching prospects in baseball in Samuel Basallo, who ended last season at Norfolk. He can also play first base.
The San Diego Padres selected Hunt in the second round of the 2017 MLB draft out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.
The Padres used him as part of the package to trade for pitcher Blake Snell in late 2020. The Tampa Bay Rays flipped him to the Mariners in late 2023.
In 469 career minor league games he slashed .241/.318/.391/.708 with 43 home runs and 232 RBI.
The Orioles need Kittredge more than they need a journeyman catcher at the moment.
Kittredge will join a bullpen that is getting back a key piece in closer Félix Bautista, who missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Kittredge has spent nearly his entire Major League career as a reliever, with just 15 starts among his 255 appearances. He’s been a set-up man for the most part, as he’ll enter 2025 with 16 career saves.
Kittredge made his MLB debut in 2017 with Tampa Bay and has a career record of 23-12 with a 3.44 ERA with 273 strikeouts and 76 walks in 285.1 innings.
His All-Star campaign came in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he finished the season 9-3 with a 1.88 ERA in 57 games, which included four starts. He struck out 77 and walked 15 in 71.2 innings.
He missed parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons after he had Tommy John surgery.
The 34-year-old spent last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA in 74 appearances. He struck out 67 and walked 20 in 70.2 innings. He also recorded a save.
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