Sam

Huff

With Jonah Heim hitting the paternity list on Saturday, Huff will get another opportunity to show what he can do at the big-league level. Huff has appeared in one game but has not had a plate appearance for the Rangers this season. He’s a career .262/.314/.462 hitter with 10 homers and 20 RBI in 210 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

Huff heads back to Triple-A after a brief stint in the majors with Jonah Heim away from the club on the bereavement list.

The 26-year-old backstop will provide depth behind the plate for at least a couple of days with Jonah Heim heading to the bereavement list. Huff has once again been mashing at the Triple-A level to start the season, slashing .321/.415/.607 with three homers and 13 RBI in his first 16 games.

There were reports that the Rangers considered opening the season with three catchers on the active roster but ultimately decided against it. While Huff isn’t known for his defensive prowess, he can still swing it, hitting .298/.399/.548 with 17 homers across 321 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock. He’ll provide depth at catcher in the upper levels of the Rangers’ minor league system.

That third catcher would be Sam Huff, who might be in line for some DH time if the Rangers choose not to carry Wyatt Langford initially. Huff’s defense behind the plate is lacking, which is why the Rangers signed Andrew Knizner as their backup to Jonah Heim, but his bat remains promising; he’s hit .262/.314/.462 in 210 major league plate appearances.

With both Adolis García and Josh Jung returning from the injured list on Monday, the Rangers needed to free up a pair of roster spots and their third catcher was one of the casualties. Huff has hit .256/.289/.512 with three homers, six RBI and a 17/2 K/BB ratio over 45 plate appearances with the Rangers on the season.

Huff returns to the majors as a third catcher with rosters expanding to 28 players in September. The 25-year-old has hit .237/.275/.368 with one homer over 40 MLB plate appearances this season.

With Jonah Heim’s return from the injured list Sunday, Huff will return back to the minor so he can see close to full-time playing time. The 25-year-old hit .237/.275/.368 with one homer over 40 plate appearances with the Rangers this season.

Huff drove in a run with an RBI double in the fourth inning that increased the Rangers’ early lead to 2-0. He then came around to score on an infield single off the bat of Marcus Semien. With his two-hit attack, the 25-year-old is now slashing .235/.278/.382 with one homer and three RBI in 36 plate appearances on the season.

Mitch Garver will likely get more time at DH while Corey Seager is out, so the extra catcher will be nice to have around. Huff was hitting .298/.389/.546 with 14 homers in 52 games in Triple-A. He’s 2-for-12 with the Rangers.