Aug. 21: Barnhart has now been released, tweets Sullivan. He’s a free agent and can sign with any team.
Aug. 19: The Cubs have informed reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, that catcher Tucker Barnhart has been designated for assignment. Infielder Miles Mastrobuoni has been recalled in a corresponding move.
Barnhart, 32, was signed in the offseason to a two-year deal with a $6.5MM guarantee. It was a sensible addition for the Cubs at the time, given their uncertainty behind the plate. Willson Contreras had that position locked down for many years but reached free agency after 2022 and signed with the Cardinals. The Cubs still had Yan Gomes, but he was coming off a down year and entering his age-35 season. Miguel Amaya was a notable prospect on the 40-man roster, but he had missed significant development time thanks to the pandemic and Tommy John surgery, having not yet reached Triple-A by the end of 2022.
Bringing in another catcher to improve the depth was an obvious move and Barnhart was a logical choice as an experienced veteran. He debuted in 2014 and played with the Reds through 2021, then spent one season with the Tigers. He hit .245/.320/.360 in that time for a wRC+ of 80, indicating he was 20% below league average at the plate overall, but catchers often hit a bit less than average in general. He paired that with solid defense, having racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and winning a pair of Gold Gloves. On Statcast’s catcher blocking leaderboard, Barnhart was ranked the best backstop in the league from 2018 to 2022, and also earned good grades for his work with the running game.
Unfortunately, the results at the plate haven’t been there for Barnhart this year. He’s hit just .202/.285/.257 for a wRC+ of 53, striking out in 34.1% of his appearances, easily the worst such mark of his career. That’s coincided with a bounceback season from Gomes and a strong debut from Amaya. The former is hitting .269/.310/.433 for a 98 wRC+ with the latter at .245/.368/.383 and a 113 wRC+. The club has had all three backstops on the active roster for over two months now but Barnhart has been squeezed out of playing time, only getting two plate appearances since August 1. It seems the club would rather use that roster spot to add some extra infield depth, bringing up Mastrobuoni today.
With the trade deadline now passed, the Cubs will have to put Barnhart on waivers in the coming days. He would surely go unclaimed, given his recent struggles and his contract. His deal came with even salaries of $3.25MM this year and next, along with the ability to opt-out after the first season. There’s still roughly $770K left to be paid out this year and the full amount next year. Once he passes through waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, with the Cubs remaining on the hook for that money. Any other club could then sign him for the prorated league minimum with that amount subtracted from what the Cubs pay.
Going forward, the Cubs will stick with the duo of Gomes and Amaya. The latter just debuted this season and still has years of club control remaining. Gomes is in the final guaranteed season of his contract but the Cubs have a $6MM club option for 2024 with a $1MM buyout. Perhaps the departure of Barnhart makes it more likely they pick up that option and keep Gomes for one more year, though they could always find another complement for Amaya in the offseason.
Tucker won’t be out there long.
I’m pretty surprised the Cubs opted to drop Barnhart, the pitching staff seemed to like him quite a bit.
And he is an awesome position-player pitcher too.
Catchers usually are lol.
No amount of defense and pitch framing can make up for that putrid bat. Gomes and Amaya are doing just fine. I just wish they called up PCA instead of the dreadful Miles Mastrobouni. How many looks are they going to give him.
Putrid bat? the only thing that stinks here is your post.
Any time a decent defensive catcher can hit his weight, KEEP HIM
Duh! Read again. Wisdom, not Barnhardt, Troll.
Oh please great Don Zimmer, prove me where i”m wrong (oh great leader of trolls)
Apparently not. Gomes and Amaya both good defenders with much better bats. Keeping Tucker Barnhart is a wasted roster space. If something happens there are plenty of catchers who can’t hit laying around.
My bad. I thought you replied to my Wisdom reference. You did not, and I was wrong.
At . 202 he probably isn’t hitting his weight.
Should have released Wisdom. No value added with that putrid strikeout rate and Avg.
This is good. I’m probably in the minority on this but I’m glad it’s NOT Wisdom. There’s still value left in his bombs as a 9-hole hitter but he needs regular reps to hit .200 with an .800 OPS but he’s a DH right now and Morel is rightfully owning that spot, similar profile as PWis but a lot more upside.
Fair…I made a lot of points about Wisdom and certainly live with his lightning in a bottle offense. Point his that he and Morel are essentially the same player….pathetic at any defensive position and there is only one DH and you cannot lose games because of defense when it is avoidable and Wisdom was at least partially responsible for the loss yesterday.
I live near Chicago and have watched the White Sox, over the last few years, trot out Abreu, Vaughn, Grandal, Sheet, and Jimenez in the same lineup on many days. That’s literally five DHs at the same time on occasion…..and look at what that has produced.
mike127: Agree. I thought they were A DH team All Day All The Time last year. Abreu, as Astro fans have now found out, was declining on offense last year. Apparently Houston signed him based on 2021 on back.He’s better than Vaughn defensively. Grandal is the worst defensive catcher in BB and his hitting is dreadful. His contract is up after this season but I have a sick feeling they’ll re-sign him. Strictly a DH. Sheets wouldn’t even qualify as one because he can’t hit. Eloy is the definition of a DH, but his offense makes up for the fact that his OF play is scary, although he’s done well in the few times he’s played RF. With Reinsdorf not willing to pay anyone more than $3m a year, this is going to be a very bad team for a very long time.
@Avenger there are stats other than HRs and Abreu had one of his top 3-5 seasons in nearly every statistical category other than HRs and RBIs. And considering they scored over 100 less runs in 2022 from 2021 as a team of course he’d have less RBIs as those are reliant on teammates as well.
Completely agree with that, but Wisdom has to be the one on the block now. Hopefully he lasts until the roster expansion. I don’t think he’s lost it you just never know when he’s going to go on a hot streak TEAR and hit 10 homers in 12 games type of deal. He seems like the type of guy that can make a shift into a role player and be a pinch hitter type where you can use him situationally where a K is better than double play, but you’ve got that lingering sense that he just might connect. “Swing away Merrill…….swing away”
Wisdom just plain Ks too much and is a real liability defensively. I’m not sure how hoping he has a hot streak justifies him anymore. Especially not in a playoff race.
I don’t think I ever said he should be starting and commanding regular AB’s. I said I’d be in a minority and was glad it was Tucker and not Wisdom. He K’s but usually a team finds a way to get a guy hovering around .800 OPS some AB’s in an 8th/9th hole or pinch hitter role.
Mike127, So what you’re saying is Morel is unplayable as well, and should be outrighted off the 40 to make room for players capable of playing in the field.
That’s one….but being that it’s Mastrobuoni that is coming back is there a hidden injury concern with Dansby, Nico, Candelario or Madrigal?? Seems like a repetitive piece there.
His left handed back is not going to spell Belli, Happ, Suzuki, Candy, or Tauchman.
There was no real need for 3 catchers. Mastrobuoni becomes a left hand bat off the bench, which is what Barnhart had become given he had only started a handful of games over the past few weeks.
Been waiting for this awhile. Understood they kept him on hand bcz Gomes may’ve been on the block if Cubs became sellers. And Cubs projected him as the backup to Amaya for next year.
Gomes has been great w/ the bat lately. Amaya needs to start 2x/week.
Team gets stronger w/ this move. No need for Tucker to take ABs
Hawk, completely agree. I think Barnhart was only kept around this long, was as insurance in case something happened to Gomes or Amaya earlier in the season. Now with just a bit over a month to go, a decent bat becomes more valuable than a 3rd catcher who can’t hit a lick. However I think they have a number of better bats than Mastro – in the system.
An alternative would have been to put Barnhart on the IL with some sort of phantom injury, just to keep him as insurance in case of actual injury to Gomes or Amaya. Waiving him was probably more about opening up a 40-man spot than anything else.
He’ll get released and picked up quickly thereafter on a major league deal.
They also need Mervis up NOW. He was 3-4 last night and has nothing left to prove in AAA. Let him experience this race from a mental perspective, contribute when and where he can. He’d have caught that ball Jeimer through into the dirt. You can’t expect Wisdom to scoop that. Mervis should have been called up instead of Masturboni!
Yep Tom….something weird with the glut of infield type guys…..can’t call up a pinch runner type guy yet….and please don’t make me watch Miles in RF again.
I wanna see Canario and Luis Vazquez called up. Both are killing it in Iowa. But so is PCA. The problem is there’s only 2 spots open for Sept. Call ups. And with Stro out for x amount of time they probably should call up Ben Brown or Jordan Wicks. Smyly has really lost his love and feeling(sorry recently watched Top Gun) Smyly at most should be the Opener. I would call up Wicks or Brown or even Nick Burdi for long relief. I would love to see PCA eligible for the playoff roster.
I’d also like to see Mervis up, but I just don’t see a path to regular AB’s for him on the MLB Cubs at the moment.
The regular AB thing is a true statement, but regular AB’s in AAA isn’t doing much different for him there. He’s still batting with a 0.950 OPS the same way. He needs to be up at Wrigley, with the team, taking BP in Wrigley, and getting whatever time he can off the bench. The difference now is that there’s less pressure on him. I think the mental experience of being in a playoff race with all-stars, an MVP, Gold Glovers, and a Cy-Young candidate on his team will do better than his continued .950 OPS at AAA.
I also agree with you all about Mervis. First of all, they should have called him up earlier in the season than they did, when the team was winning games. There would have been less pressure on him, to help right the ship. I too feel with only 6 or 7 weeks left, each game is important and the last innings yesterday showed their PH options on the bench were very poor. Mervis, Perlaza or even Canario would have been a better options.
I’d love to see Mervis up now – get him in the lineup twice a week and his bat would be ready for PH duty. Mastrobuouni serve’s very little purpose.
He’s the second player the Cubs signed to a two-year deal who’s been let go during the first year of his contract. Great roster management there, Jed.
On the plus side, this hopefully means more playing time for Miguel Amaya.
He was insurance for Amaya. Remember, they werent sure he was ready due to injuries.
Also they gave him a 2nd year likely in exchange for a lower AAV to stay below the luxury tax this year too.
He used to be a productive major leaguer, now he’s not. Circle of life.
Barnhardt had a player option for next year that the Cubs will also have to pay but it’s for around 3 million. Not as bad as Mancini but it’s there. Aliendo is surely graduating to AAA next year and is better C than Ballesteros. So you have Gomes, Amaya and Aliendo for next year. Opitz is also a fantastic defensive C and SH C at AA but his bat leaves something to be desired. C is set, Infield is set, So I’d still rather see Perlaza. Buy he’s not on the 40 man so Mastrobuoni is the call up. Not a horrible call but there was a better move to make IMO, But a 3rd C right now is a luxury.Especially one who doesn’t hit and Amaya needs AB’s. So at least they gained another 40 spot out of it anyway.
The 2 week spurt was an anomaly. Jed will crow about being contenders and keep his job because ownership is in over their heads on any baseball business. So many bad contracts and fans clinging to Wisdom? Dumb
You probably think deGrom’s contract was a good one. Id rather see a few small whiffs than signing a guy that cannot physically take the ball every five days for 150m plus.
Good dude but the move needed to be made:Last time Miles was up he was crushing the ball.
Cubs on the hook for $3.25M next year too! Ouch
Doesn’t seem that they are worried all that much about the Luxury Tax as some people keep pointing out here. Still I wouldn’t really want to explain to my boss why we’re paying 10 million bucks to 2 players so they can play somewhere else next year like Hoyer has to..
Uncle——it’s NOT the money being paid—-it never is—-they have the money….bad contracts are always years committed to.
Lest we remember — Cubs are paying Jason Heyward about 22 mil THIS year.
And 5 next year mike. I thought it was over this year but it’s the gift that keeps giving.
$5 M the next several years.
At least it is not part of the AAV after this season.
Oh yeah? The only reason Jed didn’t obtain real pitching help at the deadline is to keep from going over the first 233M tax line. They are at 227M per Cots right now, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence uncleMike
100 percent they weren’t going over the luxury tax. This isn’t the year to go all in and eat all the penalties associated with going over the luxury tax. They had a 20-25 percent chance of making the playoffs at the deadline. It’s a coin flip now. Hopefully they can get in and get hot. Push the chips in next season.
$3.25m is really not much to be stuck with when releasing a player. Doesn’t prohibit signings.
Besides, I can’t think of a single game this whole season where Ross used all 3 C’s. So I have no idea why he he has to have 3.
Maybe it’s just me, but this again seems to show how Ross is extremely reluctant to show any faith in the younger players in the system. Just as they so desperately paraded Hosmer and Mancini out there, you would think maybe they learned something from that. Nothing against Miles – but him and Madrigal are redundant.
Someone in the front office needs to take a fresh look in the mirror.
Dog
Which is what tells all of us that Amaya will be special both behind the plate and at bat
Actually surprised with this move. Especially so late in the season-Post trade deadline. Apparently the front office was not pleased. Tucker was not going to provide much if any offense. But it’s his overall defense and game planning that’s decent. And as previously mentioned the pitching staff had a positive connection with him. Hopefully Yan and Miguel stay healthy.
Barnhart played so sparingly- and obviously couldn’t hit a lick – it’s hard to see what value he’d give them, going forward.
Cub fans will immediately look for someone else to DFA, he’s alright, should be picked up right away
Ok Jack – I sure hope whatever team you follow- picks him up immediately.
He’s probably not going to be picked up until he turns FA. He has a player option for next year for 3 million bucks. Of course that’s why the Cubs did it now hoping somebody will pick him up figuring they might not get him as a FA. I thought he was a good signing at the time but since I haven’t seen Amaya catch a game in 3 years. I was calling for Amaya’s head but he must of worked like a dog to get back in that kind of shape. He needs AB’s though and now he’ll get some.Gomes looks tired to me right now and in need of a blow. On a hot Sunday today would be a good time for an off day.
How long until we stop using the pandemic as an excuse for stunted development? We’re about to complete a third full season of development opportunities since the lost 2020 season. There are multiple prospects who have come up and succeeded who overcame the “lost development” time or were even drafted after the 2020 season. That’s no longer an excuse or even a valid reason.
It’s not an “excuse” it’s a material reality. Many prospects take several years to develop and a whole lost year is still taking a toll. We aren’t far enough away from the start of the pandemic for its effect on players still I’m development to be a thing of the past. Some prospects develop faster than others, college draftees spend less time in the minors much of the time so the fact that some prospects have made the jump to mlb successfully after losing that time doesn’t prove that the impact of it isn’t still a real factor right now.
i would love to see how great most people do at there jobs after taking 1.5 to 2 years off, most of us will probably struggle for a few weeks to get back into things. now multiple that by 10 and you have pro sports where the error for success and failure are razor thin, so yea i can see why 20 is still messing up some kids development.
I hated this signing from the get go, just like I did Mancini, Hosmer, Boxberger, Fulmer, etc. – but this seems like the wrong move right now. There are so many other players on the 40-man more deserving of the DFA. I’ve stood up for Jed many times but these kinds of moves with Barnhart and Mancini just show how terrible this past offseason was for them and their valuations. They’ll have to pay both of those players next year when they’re playing for someone else and make excuses this offseason about not having money to spend on guys that can actually help in 2024. There’s no way that Barnhart isn’t still one of our best 13 position players – and although I like Amaya – Barnhart is the better catcher of the two even though he hasn’t hit (and was never expected to!!). And let’s be honest, 109 at-bats over 4 and a half months isn’t honestly enough to expect him to ever have any type of rhythm at the plate. Not a huge Barnhart fan, but still don’t like this decision.
I was ok with Boxberger. Unfortunately he got injured. But the rest I was like…what is Hoyer thinking! Would have, should have just signed Chaffin and Candelerio in the off season when available.
Amaya plays great defense
The Sheriff has sucked this year, he was a favorite of mine in the past
Barnhart apparently left what little offensive ability he had in Cincinnati. Maybe he re-signs with the Reds next winter as Casali and Maile have been pretty terrible as well
I have nothing against Barnhart, but I knew the Cubs were throwing away good money on him. I think his career is just about done. He had a pretty good career.
Barnhart has several years left as a depth catcher who gets called up as a backup after an injury. Some value but not a guy you give a multi-year deal. Gomes and Amaya in 2024 is the right calll!
If used properly, Mastrobuoni is a very solid addition to the team. The guy is a burner on the base paths and should definitely be utilized as a pinch runner and/or the guy starting on second in extras.
He also hit extremely well in AAA and was hitting well right before he was demoted for Madrigal.
If anything, there will be a seasonal deli item named after him after the ball park, should he catch fire.
Yankees please get him.
White Sox should pick him up if he falls to them. Grandal sucks, Seby isn’t the answer, Lee might be, but is unproven, and Quero still needs a bunch of time to develop. Get Barnhart for a year and they’d at least have solid defense at C for a change.
Doesn’t need to fall to them any longer—he’s a free agent—he can go wherever he wants.
And as for the White Sox him choosing them would be a classic case of “the poor get poorer.”
They last thing the White Sox need is another lousy baseball player. They are going to get better at that position just by having Grandal’s contract go away.
Should have hung onto him as their 8th inning pitcher.
Tough call but someone had to go, Wisdom will be next
His bat has never been his calling card, a team with a powerful lineup and bound for the post-season, but in need of a solid back up catcher may take a flyer on him.
I remember when the writers were having a meltdown when the Reds traded Barnhart.
I would have liked to see the Cubs keep Barnhart. Good defensive catchers who have a positive relationship with their pitchers is very hard to find. I hope this doesn’t blow up on them.