The SF Giants bolstered organizational depth at catcher over the weekend. Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers backstop Austin Barnes has joined the organization on a minors pact and been assigned to the Arizona Complex League, per the team’s transaction log.
SF Giants add longtime Los Angeles Dodgers backstop to a minor league deal
Organizational catching depth ran dry, especially in the upper minors, earlier this month, and I think that is something the Giants want to avoid. I remember last season when Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy landed on the injured list in the middle of May, and they had to call veteran backstop Curt Casali to get out of his deal with the Chicago Cubs and rejoin the club.
The Giants are not necessarily out of the woods just yet in the upper minors. The Richmond Flying Squirrels have Adrián Sugastey and Onil Perez, but the Sacramento River Cats are still a little thin. Logan Porter and Zach Morgan are handling the duties in Triple-A, but Morgan is more of an emergency option.
Sacramento has Max Stassi and Sam Huff on the roster. Stassi is currently on the injured list, whereas Huff has been dealing with a back ailment and has not made an appearance with Sacramento since being sent outright to Triple-A after clearing waivers.
The addition of Barnes gives the Giants an experienced catcher and someone they know well. He was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins in the ninth round of the 2011 draft out of Arizona State University. Barnes was shipped to the Dodgers in a seven-player deal in 2014. Kiké Hernández, Andrew Heaney, and Miguel Rojas were among the players involved in that deal.
The 35-year-old has been with the Dodgers since then, appearing in 11 seasons with Los Angeles before he was released in May. He was one of the team’s longest-tenured players at the time of that move.
Barnes does not offer much with the bat, but he can still be a tough out. Overall, he has posted a .223/.322/.338 line (85 wRC+) with an 11.2 percent walk rate, 22.3 percent strikeout rate, and .115 ISO in his career. As his ISO would suggest, he does not offer much power, but has always done a nice job of working the count and coaxing a few extra walks.
For much of his Dodgers career, the veteran backstop has served as a personal catcher to Clayton Kershaw. He is a reliable receiver while being worth +33 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and +10 Fielding Run Value (FRV) behind the plate.
