Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Dave Roberts: “Austin Barnes is a Dodger for life”
LOS ANGELES — The elation of the
Dodgers calling up top prospect Dalton Rushing came with the somberness of losing someone who was beloved in the clubhouse with Austin Barnes getting designated for assignment.
One of the first transactions in Andrew Friedman’s tenure running the front office was one of his best. Dee Strange-Gordon, Dan Haren, Miguel Rojas, and $10 million
went to the Marlins, and the Dodgers got Barnes, Kiké Hernández, reliever Chris Hatcher, plus Andrew Heaney,
who was flipped for Howie Kendrick.
Hernández and Barnes became stalwarts through one of the most successful runs in franchise history, both parts of four pennant-winners and two championship teams. Barnes, in his 11th season, was the longest-tenured position player on the Dodgers.
“I think everyone was surprised. Barnesy was one of my best friends, on or off the field,” said Clayton Kerhsaw, who threw to Barnes for 508 innings over 86 games. “You won’t find a guy that competes more than Austin Barnes. He loves to win more than anybody, and he always found a way.
“It’s sad to see someone like that go who’s been here that long. We all feel it. It’s no disrespect to Dalton, I think he deserves it, and he’s going to be a great player. For me personally, and for a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see him go.”
The upgrade from Barnes to Rushing is obvious, especially on offense, as Barnes since the start of 2023 is hitting .217/.283/.272 with a 59 wRC+ and
the fourth-lowest slugging percentage among 396 major league hitters with at least 400 plate appearances during that time.
Barnes only threw out one of 16 runners trying to steal in his 12 starts, and Baseball Savant rates him as two caught stealings below average,
tied for 58th among major league catchers. But Barnes’ strength is in his receiving skills,
ranked eighth among MLB catchers in framing runs by FanGraphs dating back to 2017, despite averaging only 38 starts per year during that span.
“A lot of his superpower is getting pitchers to be the best that they can be,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s obviously known for his receiving.”
Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, left, and Austin Barnes hold the Championship trophy in Game 6 of the World Series at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas.
“For me it was always his ability to steal strikes. It was always very fluid and crisp. I don’t want to say he was fooling the umpire, but you watch some guys try to do it, and it looks so natural for Barnes,” said Alex Vesia. “I remember multiple games where he stole multiple strikes that literally changed the course of the game.
“I always thought he did a really good job of calling a game. The position he was put in, to give Will [Smith] a day off, and still compete, come out and have a game plan. It’s hard to do, very hard to do. But he did great.”
“Just watching him work, with his finger on the pulse at all times. Calling pitches that pitchers didn’t usually throw, calling pitches that shouldn’t be thrown against certain hitters,” Max Muncy said. “He just had the feel of the game in that moment, recognizing things. He was so elite at that. It was so cool watching our pitchers falling in love with him, and trusting him. ... Those moments, stuff like that will stick with me forever.”
Barnes led the Dodgers in starts behind the plate once with the Dodgers, in 2019, when he started the season as the regular backstop and Russell Martin the backup. But Will Smith made his way to the majors and assumed the duties by the end of the year.
But Barnes, the backup catcher, had staying power. He signed
a two-year deal covering his final two arbitration years through 2022, and before that season ended
re-upped for another two-year deal through 2024, with a club option for 2025 that
was exercised by the Dodgers in November.
Barnes’ 11 seasons as a Dodgers catcher is tied with John Roseboro
for fourth-most in Dodgers franchise history. Only Steve Yeager at 14 years, and 13 years each for Mike Scioscia and Otto Miller have more.
Yasmani Grandal was the starting catcher in 2017 and 2018, but by October was slumping and the Dodgers mostly turned to Barnes, who started 24 of 31 postseason games during those two seasons. In 2020, Will Smith was the regular catcher but the universal designated hitter was allowed in the National League for the first time, and Barnes caught eight of 18 postseason games that year, too.
“Barnesy was just so on the button when it came to the postseason. He knew exactly what was needed, he knew exactly what to do,” Muncy said. “There was a couple of years where he may not have played a ton during the regular season, but as soon as we got to the postseason, he was catching almost every game.”
Barnes’ 15
World Series starts in 2017, 2018, and 2020 are
the fourth-most in Dodgers franchise history, behind only Roy Campanella (32 starts), John Roseboro (21), and Steve Yeager (20).
2020 was Barnes’ best postseason, with three multi-hit games,
a home run in Game 3 of the World Series, and he hit .320/.393/.440 in his 10 games that October. He even caught the last out that clinched the Dodgers’ first championship in 32 years.
Some Dodgers shared their favorite Barnes memory.
“The hit against Blake Snell, to go to the bullpen. That was a good one,” Roberts said. “And the arms up, embracing Julio in Texas, that was a great moment. He’s not a very emotional guys, but some of the memes I’ve seen in the postseason — I just love that guy.”
The hit against Snell was in Game 6 of the World Series, with one out in the sixth inning. It was
just the second hit of the game off Snell, who struck out nine Dodgers and was only at 73 pitches. Famously,
Rays manager Kevin Cash went to the bullpen to a tired Nick Anderson, and within six pitches the Dodgers had a lead they would never relinquish.
“We both weren’t a part of it a ton last year,” Kershaw said, “But in 2020 with him catching a lot of those games, getting to hug him after that was pretty special.”
Barnes has a very dry sense of humor, which Vesia called “a different type of comedy.”
Last July, Shohei Ohtani
hit a 473-foot home run nearly out of the back of the right field pavilion that was the talk of the clubhouse after the game. The blast directly followed a home run by Barnes, his first of the year and ultimately last as a Dodger. After several players offered unprompted thoughts on Ohtani’s home run, Barnes was asked what he thought of it.
“I was still thinking about mine,” Barnes quipped.
Barnes is making $3.5 million this season, with roughly $2.5 million remaining depending on the timing of what happens next. After
designating Barnes for assignment on Wednesday, so we’ll know what’s next by next Wednesday. The Dodgers could trade him, someone could claim Barnes off waivers (and assume the salary), or he could clear waivers and get released.
“I expect him to hook up with somebody else, and impact another ball club,” Roberts said. “There’s more baseball in there from him.”
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/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25996864/1229343044.jpg "Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, left, and Austin Barnes hold the Championship trophy in Game 6 of the World Series at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas.")
