Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tres Barrera

Rays Agree To Minor League Deals With Connor Seabold, Tres Barrera

By | at

The Rays agreed to minor league deals with right-hander Connor Seabold and catcher Tres Barrera, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Both players will be invited to spring training.

Seabold, 29, has pitched parts of three seasons in the big leagues. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client spent the 2024 season with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions and pitched quite well, tossing 160 innings with a 3.43 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. That marked his first and to date only season overseas, and it’s not a surprise that a strong showing of that nature earned him a look back in North American ball — albeit on a non-guaranteed deal.

A third-round pick of the Phillies back in 2017, Seabold was flipped to the Red Sox alongside Nick Pivetta in the lopsided deal sending Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman back to Philly. Seabold briefly ranked as one of the more promising arms in Boston’s system but has yet to find his big league footing. Elbow and forearm injuries impacted his 2021-22 seasons, and Seabold was hit hard in a larger sample with the 2023 Rockies. In 108 2/3 innings, Seabold has been tagged for 98 runs — a grisly 8.12 ERA. He has a 4.13 mark in 172 Triple-A innings, however, and his KBO work was impressive. The Rays have a knack for getting the most out of reclamation arms of this ilk, too.

The Rays have a full rotation, with Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, Shane Baz and Ryan Pepiot all in the mix for starts. The bullpen is more fluid, perhaps creating space for Seabold to work as a swingman or multi-inning reliever. Given his success in the KBO, it’d make sense for the Rays to keep him stretched out — if not in the big league ’pen then as a depth option in Triple-A Durham.

The 30-year-old Barrera has appeared in four big league seasons — three with the Nationals and one very brief look with the 2023 Cardinals. The ACES client is a .228/.313/.310 hitter in 164 MLB plate appearances. He spent the 2024 season with los Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League, hitting .258/.333/.421 in 50 games. Barrera is a .222/.315/.351 hitter in Triple-A. He’s known more for his solid receiving, framing and blocking skills than for his bat.

Tampa Bay signed Danny Jansen to serve as its top catcher in 2025. He’ll pair with defensive standout Ben Rortvedt as the team’s primary pairing behind the dish. The only other catcher on the 40-man roster at the moment is Logan Driscoll. Barrera will add some experienced depth who can step up in the event of an injury or head to Durham to serve as in-season depth.

21 Players Elect Free Agency

By | at

With the offseason quickly approaching, a number of players elect minor league free agency on a regular basis. Separate from MLB free agents, who reach free agency five days after the World Series by accumulating six years of service time in the big leagues, eligible minor league players can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season comes to a close. Each of these players were outrighted off of their organization’s 40-man roster at some point during the season and either have been outrighted previously in their career or have the service time necessary to reach free agency since they were not added back to their former club’s rosters. For these players, reaching free agency is the expected outcome, and there will surely be more in the coming weeks. Here at MLBTR, we’ll provide occasional updates as players continue to elect minor league free agency.

Here is the next batch, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Cardinals Outright Tres Barrera

By | at

Catcher Tres Barrera has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Memphis, reports Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. That indicates he cleared waivers after being cut from the roster last week.

Barrera, 28, was signed by the Cards to a minor league deal in the offseason. He began the year with Memphis and hit .255/.314/.532 through early May for a wRC+ of 103. He got called up to the big leagues around the same time that the club made the strange decision to shift Willson Contreras away from catching. Barrera was essentially the backup to Andrew Knizner at that time, though the club quickly returned Contreras to catching duty less than a week after stopping him from doing so. Barrera got into six games but only received two plate appearances before being placed on waivers.

Prior to joining the Cardinals, he had spent his entire career with the Nationals. He had a .231/.317/.315 batting line in the majors coming into this year but his minor league slash line is a stronger .250/.330/.392. He’s generally considered a solid defender, having positive framing marks from both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus.

Barrera had a previous career outright, which gave him the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency. Instead, he’ll report to Memphis and try to work his way back to the big leagues. He could be called up if either Contreras or Knizner need to miss any time, though prospect Iván Herrera is hitting .301/.429/.545 in Triple-A this year.

Cardinals Select Luken Baker

By | at

The Cardinals have selected the contract of first baseman Luken Baker, per a team announcement. The club also formally announced that catcher Tres Barrera has been designated for assignment. The moves are hardly surprising after Barrera himself told reporters that he had been placed on waivers last night, leading to speculation that Baker, who wasn’t in the Triple-A lineup last night, could be his replacement.

A second round pick by the Cardinals in the 2018 draft, the 26-year-old slugger tore up the lower minors at every level from 2018-2021 before spending the full 2022 season at the Triple-A level. Baker faced his first pronounced struggles as a professional at the level, slashing just .228/.288/.394 with a 78 wRC+ in 124 games.

Baker appears to have put those struggles behind him, however, as the slugger has torn up Triple-A in his return to the level this season. In 244 plate appearances at the level this season, Baker has slashed a phenomenal .313/.434/.641 with a wRC+ of 165. In addition to the vastly improved slash line, Baker has cut his strikeout rate to just 21.7%, his lowest figure since his professional debut in 2018, while his walk rate has skyrocketed to a whopping 17.6%.

That performance has paved the way for Baker to make his MLB debut later today, batting seventh against the Pirates. Going forward, Baker figures to compete with the likes of Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson for DH at-bats with the big league club, while potentially also spelling Paul Goldschmidt at first base on occasion.

As for Barrera, the 28-year-old catcher managed to get into just six games for St. Louis, drawing only two plate appearances. Should he go unclaimed on waivers, he’ll have he option to elect free agency, as he’s received an outright assignment previously in his career. Barrera figures to be an attractive catching depth option on a minor league deal should he hit the open market.

Cardinals Place Tres Barrera On Waivers

By | at

8:15PM: As noted by Denton, Goold, and several others on Twitter, prospect Luken Baker isn’t playing for Triple-A Louisville tonight, and could be on his way to the majors as Berrera’s replacement on both the 40-man and active roster.  A second-round pick for the Cards in the 2018 draft, the 26-year-old Baker has broken out with a huge season at Triple-A, hitting .313/.434/.641 with 18 homers over 244 PA.  Since Baker is a first base-only player, Paul Goldschmidt is blocking him from his natural position in St. Louis, so Baker would serve as a DH (probably against left-handed pitching, since Baker swings from the right side).

7:40PM: The Cardinals have placed catcher Tres Barrera on waivers, as the catcher himself told reporters (including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and MLB.com’s John Denton).  According to Goold, the Cards will be replacing Barrera on the active roster with another position player.

Barrera signed a minor league deal with St. Louis during the offseason, and his contact was selected in early May when the Cardinals made the decision to temporarily limit Willson Contreras to DH duty.  When Contreras was returned to the catcher role just over a week later, it basically ended any chance Barrera had of significant playing time, since Andrew Knizner had already won the backup job out of Spring Training.  All in all, Barrera appeared in six games with the Cardinals as a late-game sub, only receiving two plate appearances.

The 28-year-old Barrera has now appeared in parts of four MLB seasons since 2019, though with only 57 games and 164 PA on his big league resume.  A longtime member of the Nationals’ farm system, Barrera’s previous Major League experience came in limited action in Washington, and the Nats outrighted him off their 40-man roster after last season.  Given the lack of catching depth around baseball, it seems likely that some team will take a look at Barrera on another minor league contract.

Cardinals Activate Adam Wainwright, Select Tres Barrera, DFA Taylor Motter

By | at

The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s clash with the Tigers, activating veteran Adam Wainwright from the 15-day IL and selecting the contract of catcher Tres Barrera. Guillermo Zuniga was optioned to Triple-A while infielder Taylor Motter was designated for assignment. Wainwright will start today’s match.

The return of Wainwright is a big boost to a Cardinals rotation that – outside of Jordan Montgomery – has struggled mightily to start the season. Cardinals starters rank 24th in the majors with a 5.39 ERA, with Montgomery’s 3.29 mark holding things together while Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty have all disappointed.

The 41-year-old Wainwright will make his first start of what will be his final big league season. Despite his age, Wainwright has been a reliable starter for the Cardinals in recent years, making 64 starts in the past two seasons and working to a 3.37 ERA. His return should help as the Cardinals try to stabilize their rotation, and get back into the race for the NL Central after a disappointing 10-23 start.

The selection of Barrera is also a noteworthy one, as it sees the Cardinals shift major off-season recruit Willson Contreras off catching duties. St Louis will now primarily work with Andrew Knizner at backstop with Barrera backing him up, while Contreras will almost exclusively see time at DH and in the outfield, manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St Louis Post-Dispatch).

The presence of Contreras in the outfield and DH will further crowd the Cardinals’ picture there, with Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbar, Dylan Carlson and the recently optioned Jordan Walker all factors in play. Contreras has hit at usual above average clip, posting a .280/.361/.421 line with a pair of home runs but his framing numbers are below average and with the Cards’ rotation struggling it appears they’ve moved to shake things up a bit.

Barrera joined the Cardinals on a minor league deal this winter after spending the entirety of his career in the Nationals organization. He has exactly one year of service time over three big league seasons, putting together a .231/.317/.315 line with two home runs in that time. He’ll now presumably serve as Knizner’s backup with the big league club.

Motter also joined the Cardinals this year to a work as a utility option off the bench. He’d put together a .200/.273/.300 line in just 22 plate appearances, striking out in more than 36% of his plate appearances. In his brief stint with the Cardinals he logged time at second and third, but he’s also seen time at short and in the outfield for other teams throughout his career. While the offensive numbers don’t inspire much confidence, it’s possible another team sees value in Motter’s ability to bounce round the diamond and places a claim on the 33-year-old.

Zuniga, 24, made his big league debut for the Cards this season, pitching just a solitary inning out of the bullpen, striking out a couple of batters and keeping things scoreless. He’ll head back to Triple-A and continue to provide the team with relief pitching depth there, where he has a 5.40 ERA in 8 1/3 innings this season.

Cardinals Notes: Montgomery, Barrera, Knizner, Bullpen, Motter

By | at

Cardinals left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a free agent after the season, is open to an extension that’d keep him in St. Louis but suggests to John Denton of MLB.com that he prefers not to negotiate once the regular season has commenced (Twitter thread). It’s a common stance for players to take during spring training, which is typically the most active time of the year on the extension market.

Montgomery, 30, joined the Cardinals last summer in a deadline swap that sent center fielder Harrison Bader to the Yankees. The left-hander was excellent following the trade, working to a sharp 3.11 ERA with an improved 23.9% strikeout rate, a 5.4% walk rate and a 49.7% grounder rate that tops any mark he posted during his time in the Bronx. Montgomery missed nearly the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery but has since returned and reestablished himself as a quality big league hurler. He’s made 62 starts over the past two seasons, recording a 3.65 ERA and identical 3.65 FIP in 335 2/3 innings. The Cardinals seemingly have some extra motivation to keep Montgomery, as Adam Wainwright will retire after the season while Montgomery, Miles Mikolas and Jack Flaherty are all free agents. Steven Matz is the only established starter that St. Louis controls beyond 2023.

More on the Cards…

  • The Cardinals have a two-man race to back up newly signed catcher Willson Contreras, with incumbent backup Andrew Knizner and non-roster invitee Tres Barrera jostling for the role. To this point, Knizner has received more playing time during official spring games, but he’s just 4-for-42 and has yet to connect on an extra-base hit. Barrera has just 18 plate appearances, and while he’s gone 2-for-12 in official spring contests, one of those hits was a home run and he’s also drawn six walks (making for an odd .167/.444/.500 slash line). The Cardinals haven’t made a decision yet, but manager Oli Marmol acknowledged to Denton this week that, “In this short period of time, Barrera has clearly outperformed Knizner — I can’t disagree with that.” The Cardinals will factor more than a handful of at-bats from each player into the equation, but Marmol voiced a general desire to be able to get more offense from the backup catcher position. The 28-year-old Barrera has just 162 MLB plate appearances and is a .231/.317/.315 hitter in that time. He’s a .251/.332/.388 hitter in the minors. Knizner has slashed a combined .204/.292/.288 in 553 MLB plate appearances across parts of four seasons with the Cards. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat suggests that Knizner could be a candidate to be flipped elsewhere if another club in need of a backup reaches out to the Cardinals.
  • Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz was optioned to Triple-A Memphis today, the team announced. Following that cut, the Cardinals have Genesis Cabrera, Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton, JoJo Romero and non-roster invitee Andrew Suarez as possible lefties in Marmol’s bullpen. Thompson and Suarez have been outstanding this spring, with neither allowing a run through 9 1/3 innings and eight innings, respectively. Suarez isn’t on the 40-man roster, however, which could work against him early in the season. Cabrera is the most experienced of the bunch in terms of MLB service time and is earning a $950K salary this season, but he does have a minor league option remaining — as do Thompson (two), Naughton (one) and Romero (one). Suarez would also have one minor league option year left, if selected to the roster.
  • With Paul DeJong expected to begin the season on the injured list, it’s increasingly likely that veteran utilityman Taylor Motter will win a roster spot with the Cardinals, tweets Jones. As Jones writes at greater length, Motter’s solid spring, defensive versatility and remaining minor league option make him a candidate to win a spot on the Cardinals’ bench. The Cards have given Motter a hefty 55 plate appearances in Grapefruit League play thus far, and he’s responded with a .234/.345/.426 batting line, three homers, three steals and a 13-to-8 K/BB ratio. Top prospect Masyn Winn is still in camp and has turned plenty of heads, but he just turned 21 two days ago and has yet to play a game in Triple-A. The Cards surely want him to log everyday at-bats that probably wouldn’t be present at the big league level with a crowded infield mix.

The Cardinals’ Backup Catcher Competition

By | at

The Cardinals wasted little time finding a replacement for franchise icon Yadier Molina following his retirement, inking longtime division rival Willson Contreras to a five-year contract in free agency. That solidifies the lion’s share of catching time in the immediate future, but there’ll at least be some competition with regard to who’ll back Contreras up in 2023 and perhaps beyond. While Andrew Knizner was Molina’s backup in recent seasons, MLB.com’s John Denton tweets that manager Oli Marmol “made it clear” that the backup job behind Contreras is a competition. Specifically, non-roster invitee Tres Barrera has made strong impressions early in camp.

Knizner, 28, has appeared in 160 games and tallied 478 plate appearances for the Cards over the past two seasons, but he’s managed just a .200/.294/.276 batting line in that time — about 33% worse than that of a league-average hitter (67 wRC+). Knizner has been good at controlling the running game in his career (29.8% caught-stealing rate), but he’s posted poor framing marks and been dinged with a minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved mark dating back to his 2019 MLB debut.

To his credit, Knizner was a well-regarded prospect and has a strong track record in the upper minors (.318/.368/.445 in Double-A; .283/.362/.453 in Triple-A). Scouting reports throughout his minor league tenure praised him as a bat-first option at catcher, but he’s yet to match those expectations. He’s also rarely had stable playing time in the big leagues, but with Contreras signed that’s unlikely to change.

As for the 28-year-old Barrera, he’s spent his entire career to date in the Nationals organization, receiving very limited looks in the Majors. He’s tallied just 51 games and 162 plate appearances, batting .231/.317/.315 with a pair of homers. In parts of six minor league seasons, Barrera has put together a .251/.332/.388 batting line, including a .228/.320/.356 slash in 402 Triple-A plate appearances.

Barrera has drawn average or better framing marks in his small MLB sample, but he’s had the opposite problem of Knizner, throwing out a woeful three of 34 attempted thieves on the basepaths (8.8%). However, he’s been far better in the minors over a much larger sample — 106-for-421, for a 25.2% rate — so there’s reason to expect him to improve on that currently unsightly number.

Not mentioned in Denton’s report but also in camp is top prospect Ivan Herrera. Once regarded as the heir-apparent to Molina, the 22-year-old Herrera made his big league debut in 2022 and went 2-for-18 with eight punchouts in 22 plate appearances. However, he also turned in a solid .268/.374/.396 batting line in Triple-A (111 wRC+) and has generally been an average or better bat at every minor league stop. He’s a career .276/.375/.415 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons and placed 75th among all prospects on FanGraphs’ rankings prior to the 2022 season.

With Contreras now installed behind the dish, Herrera’s main role with the Cardinals — at least in the short term — would appear to be a backup. He’s on the 40-man roster and has a minor league option remaining, so for now he can be sent to Triple-A to keep getting regular work in the event of an injury to Contreras. Longer term, there’s no longer a clear starting spot on the roster for Herrera. Having an overqualified backup isn’t a bad thing, though, and Contreras has enough bat to play some designated hitter as a means of keeping him fresh, which could theoretically open some additional playing time. There’s also the obvious likelihood that other clubs will come calling on Herrera’s availability, but to this point there’s been little indication the Cardinals have seriously entertained any overtures.

Cardinals Sign Tres Barrera To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Cardinals and catcher Tres Barrera are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). The Ballengee Group client will receive an invitation to big league camp in Spring Training, where he’ll vie for a backup job to offseason signee Willson Contreras. The Cards announced the signing not long after Murray’s initial report.

Formerly a sixth-round pick by the Nationals, Barrera is a 28-year-old right-handed hitter who’s spent his entire career to date with the same organization. He’s appeared in parts of three big league seasons with Washington, batting a combined .231/.317/.315 in 162 trips to the plate. He spent the bulk of the 2022 season in Triple-A Rochester, where he batted .254/.338/.424 in 206 plate appearances.

Barrera sports a solid 25% caught-stealing rate in his minor league career, though he’s somewhat surprisingly thrown out just nine percent of attempted thieves in the big leagues. That’s come in a small sample, of course, and Baseball Prospectus has generally rated Barrera as solid or better in terms of both pitch framing and blocking balls in the dirt throughout his time in the minors and the big leagues.

The starting gig behind the plate is obviously spoken for in St. Louis after Contreras inked a five-year contract, and as things stand, Andrew Knizner is the presumptive backup. Barrera can team with top catching prospect Ivan Herrera to form a Triple-A catching duo and give the Cards some experienced depth in the upper minors.

Nationals Outright Tres Barrera, Francisco Perez

By | at

The Nationals cleared a pair of 40-man roster spots, sending catcher Tres Barrera and reliever Francisco Pérez through waivers. After reinstating all players from the injured list as required, Washington’s 40-man roster count sits at 39.

Barrera, a former 6th-round draftee, has been a depth catcher in Washington. He’s appeared at the big league level in three of the last four years, tallying 162 plate appearances. He’s a career .231/.317/.315 hitter with a pair of home runs in 51 MLB games. The righty-swinging backstop posted a .254/.338/.424 line over 206 trips to the plate with Triple-A Rochester this year.

Pérez joined the organization last offseason off waivers from the Guardians. He pitched in 10 MLB games, allowing seven runs with nine walks and seven strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old spent most of the season in Rochester, appearing 45 times and soaking up 46 2/3 frames. He posted a 4.82 ERA for the Red Wings, striking out almost 30% of opponents but battling huge walk troubles. He’ll have the right to refuse the assignment and elect minor league free agency.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top