Dodgers release catcher Austin BarnesAccording to his transaction tracker on MLB.com. If he hasn't done so, he is free to sign a contract with any club.
This is the most likely result of Barnes being designated as a mission last week when the Dodgers chose to promote Dalton rush Go to professional. Barnes' salary this year is 3.5mm. Another club is unlikely to ask him to give up the waiver and accept that when hitting .214/.233/.286 this season. He has plenty of service hours to reject direct tasks of electing free agents. The Dodgers are skipping this form and sending Barnes to the open market more directly.
As a free agent, he should gain more interest. The Dodgers stay on what’s left of their salary. Any other club can sign him and can only owe him the minimum wage of the major league minimum wage. This amount will be subtracted from the fees paid by the Dodgers.
Barnes has never been a superstar, but was able to earn more than a decade of career as a solid major league. From 2015 to this season, the Dodgers sent him to 1,757 times. At that time, he drew the walk with 11.2% cut and hit only 22.3%, and he hit 35 home runs in that time. His .223/.322/.338 Slash series has a WRC+ of 85. This shows that he is 15% lower than the league average overall. However, the catchers are usually about 10% lower than the league-wide par, so Barnes is making a great deal to get a substitute for the position.
Defensively, the mark is very strong. He saved 33 defensive runs throughout his career. Media such as the Baseball Prospectus and Statcast named him a powerful maker and blocker. He also seems to have earned a good reputation in clubhouse and worked with average pitchers, especially Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers obviously like Barnes. He will arrive at free agents after the 2022 season, but they signed that August extension. The deal paid him $7mm on the 2025 club options for 2023 and 2024. They triggered the option in November.
But, as mentioned earlier, he no longer ignores Rushing's rise this year, which leads Barnes to stand out. Given Barnes’ overall record and low acquisition costs, some other clubs that need to attract depth will certainly draw attention. He and the Dodgers may also decide to reunite in minor league trades, although he has the opportunity to search for other options in the market.
If he gets a Major League Baseball deal elsewhere, he will be fit for the first time in teams other than the Dodgers. He was selected by the Marlins but was switched to the Dodgers in December 2014 and has been serving in the Dodgers until this week.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Images by Imagn
