The San Diego Padres earned a series win over the New York Yankees over the weekend.
San Diego is now 75-68 and remains just 0.5 games back of the final Wild Card in the National League. The next series on the Padres’ schedule is the Washington Nationals (at home) in a three-game set that starts Monday.
During the Yankees series, it was announced that starter Nick Pivetta has been reinstated from the 60-day IL.
Well, on Monday, the move was made official, and as a result, there was a roster casualty.
More MLB on Heavy: New York Yankees Star Cody Bellinger Goes Viral for Wrong Reason in Padres Game
Padres Cut Catcher Blake Hunt
In order to make room on the roster for Nick Pivetta, the Padres had to make two moves.
First, Jhonny Brito has been optioned to the minors, and as a corresponding move to Pivetta’s activation, San Diego has decided to cut ties with catcher Blake Hunt.
Hunt, 27, was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2nd round of the 2017 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2026.
MLBTR.com’s Darragh McDonald hit the DFA pretty quickly and wrote:
“Hunt, 27, began the season with the Padres on a minor league deal. He was added to the big league roster in June when Freddy Fermin landed on the injured list. Luis Campusano was already on the IL at the time, so Hunt and Rodolfo Durán made up San Diego’s catching duo for a bit. Later that month, when Fermin came off the IL, Hunt was optioned to the minors. He got to make a brief major league debut while in the bigs but Hunt only made three plate appearances across two games, striking out in all three of those trips.”
More MLB on Heavy: MLB World Reacts to Jesús Luzardo Performance in Braves-Phillies Game
Taking a Quick Look at Blake Hunt’s MLB Career
After being drafted by the Padres nearly 10 years ago, Blake Hunt has since bounced around organizations in the minors.
Across 2090 at-bats in nine MiLB seasons, Blake Hunt carries a batting average of .249 with 64 home runs and 303 RBI.
He’s also played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, and Seattle Mariners organizations.
In 2026 (in the minors), Hunt is batting .305 in 49 games.
More MLB on Heavy: Toronto Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease Makes MLB History During Cy Young Bid
San Diego Padres Cut Ties with 27-Year-Old Player After Yankees Series