December 17th: The Orioles announced today that Handley has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Romo was claimed by the Mets earlier today.
December 11th: The Orioles announced that catcher Maverick Handley has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for their signing of first baseman Pete Alonso, which has now been made official.
Handley, 28 in March, got to make his major league debut in 2025. The O’s began the season with Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez as their catching duo but both of those two suffered a few injuries during the campaign. Baltimore had to dip into some depth, which led to Handley getting 47 plate appearances across 16 games, but he struck out in 38.3% of those while walking just 4.3% of the time and put up a .073/.133/.073 line.
The O’s called up catching prospect Samuel Basallo late in the season and signed him to an extension. Rutschman can still be retained via arbitration through 2027. Those two should be the primary backstops in Baltimore for the time being. As of a few days ago, Handley and Drew Romo were on the 40-man as optionable depth. However, Romo was designated for assignment yesterday, so the O’s now have just two catchers on the roster and two potential depth guys in DFA limbo.
Handley does not have a previous career outright, nor does he have three years of big league service time. That means he would not have the right to elect free agency if he were passed through waivers unclaimed. The same is true of Romo. If one or both clear waivers, the O’s might be content with their catching depth situation. If they lose one or both, that should increase the chances of Baltimore looking for extra depth via the waiver wire or minor league deals.
For now, they have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for Handley. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could take five days to talk trades with other clubs. His big league track record thus far is obviously unimpressive but in a tiny sample size. Dating back to the start of 2023, he stepped to the plate 765 times in the minors with solid 14% walk rate but only nine home runs. His .227/.352/.323 line led to a wRC+ of 87, which is not bad for a backup/depth catcher. If he lands with another club, he still has options and less than a year of service time.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
So, three days ago they had four catchers on the roster, now they have two – Rutschman & Basallo. I did think three catchers, while wise considering Rutschman’s 1.5-year struggle and Basallo’s inexperience, was a roster constraint that didn’t lend itself to flexibility. I guess they’re hoping Romo and/or Handley pass through waivers… lord knows Handley should, his bat did not come with him to the bigs.
Pretty hitterish in the minors.
Some team will probably snag him.
Yeah, I was surprised. I thought he’d hit a little bit after his MiLB showing but so far, nada. He was pretty impressive when I’d see him hit in Norfolk.
It’s an after Rule 5 Draft move I’m guessing.
The article says it’s after signing alonso
the orioles did not pick a rule 5 draft this year.my bum yankees did lol.
Tell me Goose is still there?
I would like to see MLBTR do a story on MLB taking control and centralizing the technology used to evaluate minor league players.
It does nothing positive for players, and it removes advantages certain smart small market teams have over those who don’t invest in their minor league tech.
This isn’t about the Dodgers. This is about the Brewers and similar teams who prioritize development. They are going to get screwed.
Foul Territory did an entire segment on this on their YouTube channel and it’s worth looking into to see how it’s going to affect your team.
I wonder if he has a dog named Goose. Or one of the less known pilots from Top Gun Merlon aka Tim Robbins.
Right?! That was an upset. Goes from like whos that extra grinning like a hyena on deck to …. wait, when was Tim Robbins in the movie?
Ironically my dog’s name is Goose. I don’t think he had any lines ne flew a few times with Maverick and Goose and others..when Maverick took out the last guy. Merlin (Tim Robbins) gives a nice pat on the chest. After which Iceman tells Maverick he can be his wingman any day.
My friends had a next door neighbor named Bart. Named his dog Homer
Sorry Goose…. But it’s time to buzz the tower.
No longer Top Gun it would appear. Bottom bunk now?
You’d think with a moniker like Handley hed thrive as a backstop but apparently hes all thumbs.