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Austin Barnes

Giants Sign Austin Barnes To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have signed catcher Austin Barnes to a minor league deal, as per Barnes’ MLB.com profile page (hat tip to FanSided’s Jeff Young).  Barnes has been assigned not to Triple-A but to the Giants’ Arizona Complex League team, likely for a ramp-up period before heading to a higher affiliate.

The backstop’s 11-season run with the Dodgers ended when Los Angeles released Barnes back in May.  Should Barnes make the Giants’ roster, San Francisco will owe him only the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary, and the Dodgers will be on the hook for the remainder of the $3.5MM salary Barnes was owed for the 2025 season.

San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey knows a thing or two about catching, so the idea of adding another respected veteran to the team’s catching ranks behind the plate probably held some particular appeal for the Giants, especially at virtually no cost.  Adding a former longtime member of the Giants’ arch-rival might also provide an added bonus if Barnes can share a few secrets from his long stint in Dodger Blue.

Starting catcher Patrick Bailey is an elite defender who has struggled badly with the bat this season, and Andrew Knizner has provided even less offense since his contract was selected to the big league roster earlier this month.  Sam Huff and Logan Porter provided little in limited duty this season, and Porter remains on the Giants’ 40-man roster while Huff was outrighted following a DFA earlier this month.  Max Stassi, Huff, and now Barnes are experienced catchers in the minor league pipeline that the Giants would have to add to the 40-man in order to bring them up to the Major League roster.

Barnes would likely not bring much in the way of offense himself, as the 35-year-old has a career slash line of .223/.322/.338 over 1757 career plate appearances in the Show.  Barnes’ numbers dipped to just a .518 OPS over 44 PA this season when the Dodgers opted to designate and then release Barnes to make way for top prospect Dalton Rushing as Will Smith’s new backup.

While Barnes has had his share of moments at the plate over the years, he has carved out his long career as a defensive specialist.  Long regarded as a strong blocker, pitch-framer, and handler of pitchers, Barnes unofficially acted as Clayton Kershaw’s personal catcher for years, even when such catchers as Smith or Yasmani Grandal were the established starters in L.A.

Assuming he is selected to the Giants active roster in due course, Barnes will go from working with Kershaw to another future Hall-of-Famer in Justin Verlander, not to mention ace Logan Webb and former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.  Barnes’ veteran knowhow might also be helpful in mentoring younger rotation arms like Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp, who have been tasked with greater responsibility in pitching key innings for a Giants team that is trying to contend for the playoffs.

Dodgers Release Austin Barnes

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The Dodgers have released catcher Austin Barnes, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’ll be free to sign a contract with any club once he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already done so.

This was the most likely outcome when Barnes was designated for assignment last week as the Dodgers chose to promote Dalton Rushing to the majors. Barnes is making a $3.5MM salary this year. It was unlikely that another club would claim him off waivers and take that on as he’s hitting .214/.233/.286 this season. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency. The Dodgers are skipping that formality and sending Barnes to the open market more directly.

As a free agent, he should garner more interest. The Dodgers remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Any other club could sign him and would only owe him the prorated version of the major league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Dodgers pay.

Barnes has never been a superstar but has been able to carve out a career of more than a decade as a solid big leaguer. The Dodgers sent him to the plate 1,757 times from 2015 to the present season. He hit 35 home runs in that time while drawing walks at a solid 11.2% clip and only striking out at a 22.3% pace. His .223/.322/.338 slash line translates to a wRC+ of 85. That indicates he has been 15% below league average at the plate overall. However, catchers usually come in about 10% below the league-wide par, so Barnes’ production has been pretty decent for a backup at that position.

Defensively, the marks have been strong. He has been credited with 33 Defensive Runs Saved in his career overall. Outlets like Baseball Prospectus and Statcast have graded him as a strong framer and blocker behind the plate. He also appeared to have a strong reputation in the clubhouse for his game-planning and work with pitchers in general, particularly Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers have clearly been fond of Barnes. He was set to reach free agency after the 2022 season but they signed him to an extension that August. That deal paid him $7MM over 2023 and 2024 with a $3.5MM club option for 2025. They triggered that option back in November.

But as mentioned, his production tailed off this year as Rushing’s ascent could no longer be ignored, which led to Barnes getting bumped off the roster. Some other club in need of catching depth is sure to be intrigued by Barnes, given his overall track record and low acquisition cost. It’s also possible that he and the Dodgers decide to reunite on a minor league deal, though he’ll have a chance to scour the market for other options.

If he gets a major league deal elsewhere, he will suit up for a team other than the Dodgers for the first time. He was drafted by the Marlins but was traded to the Dodgers as a minor leaguer in December of 2014 and has been in the Dodger organization until this week.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Dodgers Promote Dalton Rushing, Designate Austin Barnes For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they have selected catching prospect Dalton Rushing to their roster. Fellow catcher Austin Barnes has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported the Rushing promotion prior to the official announcement while Robert Murray of FanSided relayed the Barnes DFA.

Rushing, now 24, was selected by the Dodgers in the 2022 draft. It was technically a second-round pick, 40th overall, though that was the club’s top selection that year. It was moved back ten spots due to the Dodgers going over the third tier of the Competitive Balance Tax in 2021. The club gave him a signing bonus of just under $2MM, right around slot value.

Since then, Rushing has done nothing but mash at the plate. He has stepped to the dish 1,150 times in total, for various minor league clubs. He has been struck out at a reasonable 21.5% pace in that time, while drawing walks at an excellent 15.6% clip. He has 54 home runs and a .277/.412/.519 batting line, which translates to a 154 wRC+.

That production would be excellent from any position but especially for a catcher, a spot that generally comes with lower offensive expectations. He’s also considered a good defender behind the plate, only adding to his prospect stock. The combination makes Rushing a consensus top 50 prospect. Baseball America currently lists him at #31 with MLB Pipeline having him at #15. In the preseason, FanGraphs gave him the #8 spot, ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic both had him at #16.

Despite Rushing’s obvious talents, it was unclear how the Dodgers would fit him in. Will Smith has been the club’s regular catcher for years and is signed through 2033. Teams with two good catchers will sometimes use the designated hitter spot to distribute more at-bats but the Dodgers can’t do that. They have Shohei Ohtani in the DH spot every day and he’s also signed through 2033.

That led the Dodgers to have Rushing dabble at other positions. He has played a bit of first base and left field in the minors, though he’s still been behind the plate more often than he’s been in those spots.

With Barnes being the corresponding move, it seems Rushing will slot into the catching mix alongside Smith. Perhaps his ability to play other positions will help both backstops get into the lineup. Freddie Freeman has first base locked down, but there’s a path for Rushing to get some outfield playing time.

Both Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman are currently on the injured list. That leaves the club with an outfield alignment consisting of Andy Pages, Michael Conforto and James Outman, with utility guys Hyeseong Kim and Chris Taylor contributing on occasion as well. Pages is the only guy in that group currently hitting well, so perhaps Rushing will be able to take some playing time from the others.

It’s too late in the season for Rushing to earn a full year of service time, at least the traditional way. As a top prospect, he technically has a path to earning a full year of service by finishing in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, though that will be a challenge. No one is currently running away with the NL ROY race but Rushing is still weeks behind others who have been up all year. Even the best prospects will sometimes struggle when first promoted to the majors, so there’s no guarantee that Rushing can just storm through the rest of the season.

Regardless, it seems the club plans for Rushing to be up for good, since they are moving on from Barnes. If Rushing struggles and they want to send him back down, Hunter Feduccia is also on the 40-man roster. Assuming Rushing finishes 2025 shy of the one-year service line, he’ll be under club control through 2031, so he and Smith can theoretically be the catching duo for years to come.

As for Barnes, he has been serving as a glove-first backup catcher for over a decade now. He has appeared in 612 games for the Dodgers, dating back to his 2015 debut. He has a combined .223/.322/.338 line in that time, which translates to an 85 wRC+. That indicates he’s been about 15% worse than the league average hitter, but catchers are generally about 10% worse than league-wide par, so that’s not bad output for a backup catcher.

Since he also provided good work behind the plate in that time, he has been a fairly solid member of the roster, leading the Dodgers to sign him to a modest extension in 2022. They were satisfied enough with his performance to pick up a $2.5MM club option for the 2025 season.

However, his offense seems to have a hit new low this year. He is striking out at a 31.8% clip, easily the highest of his career, while his 2.3% walk rate is a personal worst by a notable amount. He currently has a .214/.233/.286 slash and 44 wRC+.

Given that Barnes is now 35 years old, the club may not have much hope of a turnaround. The combination of his struggles and Rushing’s ascendance has pushed Barnes off the roster. The Dodgers will now technically have a week of DFA limbo to work out what’s next. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

There’s not likely to be much interest, based on his salary and recent performance. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while keeping his entire salary coming to him. If he ends up on the open market, another club could sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Dodgers pay.

Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Bryan Terry and Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Dodgers Exercise Club Option On Austin Barnes

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The Dodgers have exercised their club option on the services of catcher Austin Barnes for the 2025 season. Barnes will earn $3.5MM in 2025.

Barnes, 35 in December, was a ninth-round pick by the Marlins back in 2011 but has spent his entire big league career with the Dodgers. The veteran first debuted with the club back in 2015 and has now spent parts of ten seasons with L.A. in the majors. While he’s never been an everyday player and only received the lion’s share of playing time behind the plate in 2019 (when he shared duties with veteran Russell Martin and rookie Will Smith), Barnes has proven to be a sturdy and reliable backup catcher for the club throughout his career and has even become something of a personal catcher for franchise legend Clayton Kershaw in recent years.

With Smith under contract for the next decade after signing a ten-year extension back in March, he’s set to remain the club’s starting option behind the plate for the foreseeable future. The Dodgers also have a number of interesting catching prospects in the upper minors including Diego Cartaya and Dalton Rushing. With a number of intriguing internal options at the position, it may come across as something of a shock that the club would pay $3.5MM to retain an aging catcher who has hit just .217/.289/.270 (61 wRC+) over the past two seasons. Surprising as that may seem, however, the veteran remains a fairly well-regarded defender behind the plate with +2 Defensive Runs Saved in just 54 games this year.

For a Dodgers club that routinely runs payrolls at or near the top of the league, $3.5MM is an insignificant price to pay to retain a longtime member of the organization who works well with a franchise icon and offers a reliable, steady option in a year where the club could consider giving those aforementioned youngsters some opportunities to catch at the big league level. It would’ve been a surprise if the Dodgers were willing to commit to either Cartaya or Rushing as Smith’s primary backup on Opening Day of 2025 when neither has so much as a single plate appearance in the majors, and retaining Barnes allows the club to ease those prospects into life at the big league level and give them whatever time they may need at Triple-A to polish their skills and prepare for the big leagues.

Two more option decisions will need to be made over the coming days involving the Dodgers: the team will need to decide whether to bring shortstop Miguel Rojas back on a $5MM option ($1MM buyout), and Kershaw will need to decide whether he wishes to exercise his $10MM player option or head back into free agency (where he’s already indicated he would look to re-sign in Los Angeles).

NL Notes: Lindor, Blackburn, Barnes, Payamps

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After exiting early on Friday and sitting out on Saturday, Mets superstar Francisco Lindor was pulled in the second inning of today’s series finale against the Phillies. Back discomfort has been a problem for the NL MVP candidate all weekend, and as it turns out, significantly longer. Lindor told reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that he has been playing through back pain for the past two weeks. Ever since he further irritated the injury on Friday, it has become too difficult to ignore.

Lindor will go for an MRI tomorrow, after which the Mets will have a better sense of the severity of his condition. Needless to say, they’ll be hoping it’s nothing serious and the star shortstop can get back on the field as soon as possible. The Mets are in a dead heat with the Braves in the race to secure the third and final NL Wild Card berth.

In further injury news out of Queens, starting pitcher Paul Blackburn is dealing with a spinal fluid leak in his back (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). President of baseball operations David Stearns suggests the injury isn’t quite as bad as it might sound, but nonetheless, the team does not know when Blackburn will be able to return. The right-hander has not pitched since August 23. Thankfully for the Mets, their pitching staff, and particularly their starting rotation, has been a strength as of late. Their starters rank third in MLB with a 2.32 ERA since Blackburn landed on the IL. Meanwhile, Blackburn had a 5.18 ERA in five starts after joining the Mets at the trade deadline.

More from around the National League:

  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he would be “shocked” if catcher Austin Barnes doesn’t wind up on the injured list tomorrow, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The veteran backstop got hit by a foul ball on his left big toe and was forced to make an early exit from today’s game against the Braves. Barnes spent time on the IL with a fracture in the same toe in August, and while Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic points out that today’s contusion is in a “different spot,” it’s quite possible Barnes re-aggravated his old injury. Ardaya notes that Hunter Feduccia – one of four catchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster – is already on his way to join the big league club.
  • Brewers reliever Joel Payamps felt discomfort in his forearm during his appearance today against the Diamondbacks, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The right-hander recorded one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and did not return for the eighth. The Brewers have not yet provided any further details about Payamps, who has been one of the team’s most trusted and dependable relievers over the past two seasons. Across 130 games with Milwaukee, he has a 2.90 ERA and a 3.45 SIERA in 124 innings pitched. He has not looked quite as sharp in 2024 as he did the year before. Still, his 3.38 ERA and 3.73 SIERA are respectable numbers, while his six saves, 18 holds, and high average leverage index are proof that the Brewers continue to rely on him in plenty of important spots.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Dodgers Release Tony Wolters

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Aug. 19: The Dodgers have released Wolters, per the transactions log at MLB.com.

Aug. 15: The Dodgers announced Monday that catcher Austin Barnes has been reinstated from the family medical emergency list. Fellow backstop Tony Wolters was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for Barnes’ return.

Wolters, 30, was added to the roster as the corresponding move when Barnes initially stepped away from the team for family reasons thus past Friday. He appeared in a pair of games over the weekend but went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his very brief time as a member of the Dodgers. He’ll now be placed on outright waivers or released in the next week.

A familiar face for the Dodgers and their fans thanks to a lengthy stint as the primary catcher for the Rockies, Wolters has appeared in just 16 big league games since leaving Colorado following the 2020 season (14 with the Cubs last year, plus these two with L.A.). He caught 391 games with the Rox from 2016-20, hitting .238/.323/.319 with strong defensive marks for most of his time calling Coors Field home.

Wolters was batting .216/.311/.270 in 193 plate appearances with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate at the time of his selection to the big league roster. In all, he’s a .235/.321/.314 hitter in parts of seven Major League seasons (1266 plate appearances).

Dodgers Select Tony Wolters, Designate Rylan Bannon

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The Dodgers announced they’ve selected catcher Tony Wolters to the big league roster. He’ll take the spot of Austin Barnes, who’s going on the family emergency list (a placement that can last anywhere from three to seven days). To create space for Wolters on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles designated infielder Rylan Bannon for assignment.

Wolters is up for the first time this season to make his Dodgers debut. The longtime Rockies backstop also suited up with the Cubs last season. He’ll be making a big league appearance for a seventh straight year if he gets into a game. The lefty-swinging Wolters hasn’t done much at the plate as a big leaguer, owning a career .236/.322/.315 line in over 400 contests despite playing the bulk of his home games at Coors Field. He’s rated as an excellent pitch framer throughout his MLB career, though, and he’s cut down an above-average 30.7% of attempted basestealers in the big leagues.

The 30-year-old has spent the entire 2022 season with Triple-A Oklahoma City after signing a minor league deal last summer. He’s hitting .216/.311/.269 over 50 games, drawing walks at a strong 11.4% clip but not connecting on a single home run and striking out at a 26.4% rate. He’ll offer a defense-minded backup behind Will Smith while Barnes attends to a family matter.

The Dodgers just claimed Bannon off waivers from the Orioles earlier in the week. It was a return to the 26-year-old’s original organization, as he entered pro ball as a Dodgers draftee back in 2017. Los Angeles included Bannon in the Manny Machado trade a year later, and he’s spent most of the past four years in the upper minors with the O’s. His return to the Dodgers could prove very brief, as he’ll now find himself back on waivers within the next few days.

Bannon has played in four big league games with Baltimore this season, the first MLB action of his career. He’s otherwise spent the year with the O’s top affiliate in Norfolk, putting up a .229/.347/.407 line over 326 trips to the plate. Bannon has hit 11 homers and walked in 13.8% of his plate appearances, but he’s punched out at a 26.7% clip this year.

Dodgers, Austin Barnes Agree To Two-Year Extension

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7:40 PM: Barnes’ new deal is worth $7MM over the two years, giving the backup catcher a slight yearly raise over his current $2.65MM salary, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (via Twitter).

2:40 PM: The Dodgers and catcher Austin Barnes have agreed to a two-year contract extension, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The financial terms of the deal aren’t yet publicly known. Barnes was slated to reach free agency at the end of this season but will instead stick around Los Angeles a while longer.

Barnes is already in his eighth season with the Dodgers, where he’s found the rare situation of being both a backup and a franchise stalwart. Barnes has never had more than 262 plate appearances in a given season. For his career, he currently owns a .224/.334/.356 line across 1,242 plate appearances. Of course, the Dodgers value him for his defense and intangibles more than his offensive prowess.

The Dodgers thought enough of Barnes that they sent top prospect Keibert Ruiz to the Nationals to acquire Trea Turner and Max Scherzer. One can’t help but wonder if they might at some point do the same with prospect Diego Cartaya. Cartaya coincidentally left today’s game with an injury, though that had no bearing on this deal.

2021 Arbitration Hearing Results & Post-Deadline Agreements

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January 15 was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to officially submit salary figures for the 2021, and by the time the day was done, only 13 players didn’t reach agreement on a contract.  The majority of teams now adhere to the “file or trial” strategy, meaning that no further negotiations on a one-year deal will take place between the arbitration deadline and a hearing with an arbiter, which theoretically puts pressure on players to get a deal done if they are wary about taking their case to a third party.

“File and trial” tactics didn’t stop the Astros and Carlos Correa from agreeing to a one-year deal for just the 2021 season, which is also Correa’s last year before gaining free agent eligibility.  We also saw three multi-year deals reached, all from the greater Los Angeles area — the Dodgers reached two-year deals with Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes, while the Angels inked a two-year pact with Shohei Ohtani.

This left nine unresolved cases that went all the way to a hearing (held over Zoom) between an arbiter, the player, his representative(s), and front office personnel arguing the team’s side.  The teams won five of the nine hearings, continuing the very narrow edge teams have held over players in arb cases in recent years — over the last 99 arbitration hearings, teams hold a 51-48 record over players.

For the full list of every salary for every arbitration-eligible player this offseason, check out the MLB Trade Rumors Arb Tracker.  Sticking to the 13 players with unresolved cases from January 15, here’s the rundown…

Avoided Arbitration, One-Year Contract

Avoided Arbitration, Multi-Year Contract

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Player

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Team

Show all

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