Hunt, 27, was a second-round pick by the Padres in 2017. He was part of the Blake Snell trade during the 2020-2021 offseason and spent several years climbing the Rays’ minor league system. Hunt hit quite well for the Rays’ Double and Triple-A affiliates in 2023, hitting a combined .256/.331/.484 with 12 home runs in 67 games, but ultimately was not added to the club’s 40-man roster during the 2023-2024 offseason as minor league free agency loomed. That prompted the Rays to deal Hunt to the Mariners, who added him to their 40-man roster and were willing to give up the minor league catcher. Levins too to do this.
After making the jump to Seattle, Hunt hit extremely well in the first month of the season at Triple-A with a .293/.372/.533 slash line in 24 games. That was a performance so strong that the Orioles decided to take a chance on him and acquired him from Seattle in the deal that made Mike Baumann to the Mariners in May 2024. He was called up to the Majors in July 2024, but did not make his big league debut before being designated for assignment by Baltimore. He remained with the Orioles in the minor leagues through the end of the year, but hit just .179/.219/.278 in 42 games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk.
During the 2024-2025 offseason, the Mariners re-acquired Hunt and placed him at the minor league level as depth behind their big league duo of Cal Raleigh And Mitch Garver. Of course, Raleigh had an MVP-caliber season in 2025 when he broke the single-season record for home runs by a catcher. That left little room for Hunt to reach the Majors last year, but his minor league slash line was able to bounce back after a rough year in Baltimore. In 62 games this year, Hunt slashed .272/.368/.452. That slash is an exaggeration due to the offensive environment in the Pacific Coast League, where Seattle’s Tacoma affiliate plays, but Hunt’s performance was still good for an above-average 108 wRC+.
After the 2025 campaign, Hunt became a minor league free agent and emerged as an intriguing deep option for a club in need of catching. He has now found a home with his first professional organization and believes he will be the best option with Triple-A El Paso heading into 2026. The Padres have a fairly weak catching tandem as things stand. Freddy Fermin profiles itself best as a part-time player Luis Campusano numbers that can currently serve as a backup for the club after having just 27 at-bats at the big league level last year. That leaves a fairly open path for Hunt to work his way onto the MLB roster and perhaps make his big league debut after years of being on the verge of doing so. If the Padres don’t make any further additions behind the plate, it’s easy to imagine Hunt challenging Campusano for the job of backing up Fermin this spring with a longtime top prospect. Ethan Salas his own big league debut is likely still years away.
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