the 2015 season. He went 2-for-29 with 12 strikeouts, and his .289 on-base plus slugging was the lowest among MLB catchers by the time that he went on paternity leave in April. On April 27, Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment as the rookies moved J. T. Realmuto into the starting catcher role, with Jhonatan Solano acting as his backup. Although several teams expressed interest in claiming Saltalamacchia off of waivers, they were reluctant to inherit the remainder of his Marlins contract. On May 5, the Marlins released Saltalamacchia, an agreement that required them to pay the remaining $15 million on his initial $21 million contract. Arizona Diamondbacks (2015) Two days after his release from the Marlins, Saltalamacchia signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a deal that would allow him to gain more at-bats in Triple-A before joining the rest of the team. He was meant to serve as the backup catcher for Tuffy Gosewisch, but after Gosewisch suffered a season-ending knee injury at the end of May, Saltalamacchia became the Diamondbacks' everyday catcher. While he adjusted to the role, he split time with new backup Jordan Pacheco. As the season progressed, the Diamondbacks settled into a three-catcher workload, with Saltalamacchia splitting time behind the plate with Oscar Hernández and Welington Castillo. At the end of the 2015 season, Saltalamacchia, who batted .251 in 70 games with eight home runs and 23 RBIs, became a free agent. First stint with the Detroit Tigers (2016) On December 6, 2015, Saltalamacchia signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers. As the Marlins still owed him $8 million from the remainder of that contract, Detroit was allowed to sign Saltalamacchia for the minimum amount. Detroit was primarily interested in Saltalamacchia's switch-hitting abilities, as they were in need of more left-handed batters; defensively, he would serve as the backup catcher for other new acquisition James McCann. When McCann suffered a sprained ankle at the start of the season, Saltalamacchia received regular starting time, and he hit his 100th career home run on April 13, 2016, with a go-ahead grand slam in a 7–3 defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a strong offensive start which led Tigers manager Brad Ausmus to platoon his two catchers equally, Saltalamacchia fell into a slump as the season progressed, and the Tigers made no attempt to re-sign their backup catcher at the conclusion of the season. Although