Padres Release Blake Hunt

The Padres have released catcher Blake Hunt, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week. He will be a free agent as soon as he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already. Once a player is designated for assignment, a club can choose one of three options for him. The player can be traded, placed on outright waivers or placed on release waivers. Hunt was designated for assignment after the trade deadline, so the first option wasn’t possible. The Friars could have gone for outright waivers but Hunt would have had the right to elect free agency if he had cleared, since he already has an outright in his career. He may have accepted an outright assignment since it’s late in the season and he would not have been playoff eligible with another club, but the Padres aren’t likely to need him down the stretch or into the postseason. They have Freddy Fermin, Luis Campusano and Ethan Salas on the big league roster, with Rodolfo Durán on optional assignment at El Paso. It appears the club felt good enough about their depth to just let Hunt go. He’ll now head to the open market and see what opportunities are out there for him. Given that the season is almost over, it’s possible he’ll go into offseason mode and set his focus on 2027. He has a solid defensive reputation from his time in the minors but his big league track record consists of just three plate appearances and he struck out in all three of those. He has been a decent bat in the minors, with a combined .259/.339/.467 line dating back to the start of 2023, which includes a .301/.381/.617 line this year. Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images View Comments (6)