The Orioles announced that catcher Chadwick Tromp has elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment a few days ago.
Tromp, 30, had a very brief stint on Baltimore’s roster. Catcher Adley Rutschman had a concussion scare last week, leaving Maverick Handley as the only healthy backstop on the roster. That prompted the club to add Tromp. However, Rutschman quickly recovered, which led to Tromp getting bumped right back off. Since he is out of options, Baltimore had little choice but to designate him for assignment. He appeared in two games for the O’s, going hitless in four plate appearances.
A player with a previous career outright assignment has the right to elect free agency. This is the second time this year that Tromp has exercised that right. He started the year with Atlanta but had a tenuous hold on a roster spot since he burned his final option season in 2024. Sean Murphy started the season on the injured list, which got prospect Drake Baldwin to the majors. Murphy got healthy in the first week of April, sending Tromp into DFA limbo. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the O’s.
He’s now likely to get another minor league deal somewhere in the coming days, perhaps even returning to the Orioles. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests that no club is currently willing to give him a big league spot.
Tromp has 63 games of big league experience now, spread across six different seasons. He has a tepid .219/.229/.375 batting line over those campaigns. His glovework has generally received solid grades and he has shown more offensive potential in the minors. Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, he has a .256/.337/.427 line and 102 wRC+ in 872 Triple-A plate appearances.
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