The D-backs have launched veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart following final week’s DFA, per the workforce’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’s now a free agent.
Barnhart, 33, signed a minor league take care of the Snakes again in January. He’s technically within the second season of a two-year, $6.5MM contract signed with the Cubs within the 2022-23 offseason. Chicago launched him from that contract final August after he hit simply .202/.285/.257 in 123 plate appearances. The Dodgers shortly scooped him up on a minor league deal however didn’t carry him to the majors earlier than the season’s finish.
Issues didn’t go significantly better for Barnhart in Arizona. He obtained a comparable variety of plate appearances (96) but additionally posted comparable outcomes: .173/.287/.210. In the meantime, 27-year-old Jose Herrera posted a .260/.351/.362 batting line in Triple-A Reno this season, main the D-backs to go along with the youthful switch-hitting Herrera as the popular backup to Gabriel Moreno.
Barnhart was a daily with the Reds from 2015-21 and for a couple of years graded as considered one of baseball’s premier defensive catchers. The 2-time Gold Glove winner has by no means been a powerful offensive performer, however his bat has dwindled to the purpose the place the profit from his glove is now not a transparent worthwhile trade-off. Barnhart batted .249/.327/.380 throughout that prolonged run with the Reds however has produced a .208/.286/.255 slash in 527 plate appearances between three groups (Tigers, Cubs, D-backs) since leaving Cincinnati.
Any workforce in search of catching depth can now signal Barnhart with nearly no threat. He’d solely be owed the prorated league minimal for any time spent on a brand new workforce’s main league roster/injured record. The Cubs are on the hook for the rest of this 12 months’s $3.25M wage.
