Chadwick Tromp Elects Free Agency

The Orioles announced yesterday that catcher Chadwick Tromp elected free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers. Baltimore had designated him for assignment last week. Tromp’s DFA was initially to make space on the roster for Jake Rogers. That arrangement lasted all of three days. Rogers went to Boston to round out Monday’s surprise deal that sent Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox. Baltimore acquired Carlos Narváez along with three highly-regarded prospects in that swap. Narváez projects as the backup behind Samuel Basallo but will be the O’s primary catcher in the short term, as Basallo is still sidelined by shoulder inflammation. Yohel Pozo is operating in the reserve role. He has a full slate of minor league options and can be sent to Triple-A Norfolk once Basallo is healthy. That’s not the case for Tromp, who needs to go through waivers whenever he’s taken off a big league roster. He has the right to elect free agency every time he goes unclaimed. Tromp has bounced between the Braves and Orioles in a depth role over the past few seasons. That includes 21 games with those clubs this year in which he has hit .163 with no walks and 13 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances. Tromp isn’t going to provide much at the plate, as an extremely aggressive approach limits his on-base ability. He’s a steady hand defensively who has clearly endeared himself to a pair of organizations for his work with pitching staffs. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up back with one of those two teams on a minor league contract. View Comments (2)