Jacob

Stallings

Even though he’s still probably better than Henry Davis. Stallings was slated to be the Rockies’ primary catcher at this time last year, but in a rare moment of lucidity, the team ended up going with Hunter Goodman instead. Stallings was released in early June and then briefly played with the Orioles before finishing the season unrostered. A late bloomer, Stallings got his first real look as a starting catcher with the Pirates at age 31 in 2021 and proved pretty solid over a four-year span. He walks away at age 36 after hitting .232/.311/.340 with 33 homers in 1,922 career plate appearances.

The 35-year-old backstop was designated for assignment earlier in the week as the Orioles chose Alex Jackson to stick around following the return of Adley Rutschman. Stallings is expected to accept the outright assignment and will serve as extra catching depth for the O’s at Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles picked Alex Jackson over Stallings to serve as Adley Rutschman’s backup. Stallings appeared in 14 games for Baltimore, going 4-for-35 with one extra-base hit. Including his time with the Rockies, he’s hit .134/.195/.168 in 129 plate appearances this season.

Baltimore has opted to bring up newly-acquired journeyman backstop Alex Jackson from Triple-A Norfolk ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Atlanta while Gary Sánchez hitting the injured list with a right knee sprain. It’ll be Jacob Stallings handling the catching duties for now as the injuries continue to pile up at the position. The Orioles have even brought up David Bañuelos on the taxi squad as extra insurance. The 20-year-old top prospect holds a .920 OPS with 16 homers through 57 games this season at the Triple-A level. He’s one of the few prospects left in the minors that could make some serious noise for fantasy purposes in the second half.

It’s not known when the injury occurred. The 32-year-old has been replaced by Jacob Stallings. There should be more info on Sánchez’s availability soon, but the Orioles may need to make a move just based on the plethora of injuries that have occurred behind the plate. Any sort of extended absence could force Baltimore to promote top prospect Samuel Basallo to the majors.

Stallings joins Baltimore’s injury-depleted catching mix to pair with Gary Sánchez ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Rangers. The well-traveled 35-year-old latched on last week with the Orioles on a minor league pact and will get his chance following a back injury to Chadwick Tromp. He was cut loose earlier this month by the Rockies after hitting .143 (12-for-84) over 28 games this season. He’s appeared in 561 contests in the big leagues dating back to 2016.

Stallings provides Baltimore with some experienced emergency catching depth while Adley Rutschman (oblique) and Maverick Handley (concussion) are on the injured list. The 35-year-old veteran backstop was cut loose earlier this month by the Rockies after hitting .143 (12-for-84) over 28 games this season. He’s appeared in 561 contests in the big leagues dating back to 2016.

Stallings was awful with the bat in 2025, going 12-for-84 (.143) with a .396 OPS. The 35-year-old remains a quality defender behind the plate, so there could be interest on the free-agent market.

The Rockies entered the ninth inning facing a 2-0 deficit having but completely shut down by Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg through the first eight frames. They rallied with two outs as three consecutive Rockies’ hitters worked Carlos Estévez for walks, then Stalling delivered a bases-clearing double to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead. It would be short-lived though. The 35-year-old backstop finished the night 1-for-4 and is slashing a woeful .156/.289/.219 on the season with no homers and five RBI.

With two runners on base in the fourth inning, Stallings doubled to left field to plate both runs the Rockies would score against the Dodgers on Tuesday. It was just the third hit of the season for the 35-year-old backstop while driving in his first two runs. Stalling carries no relevancy in most formats outside of deep two-catcher leagues.