{"id":41329,"date":"2025-03-10T07:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T07:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41329"},"modified":"2025-03-10T07:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T07:04:10","slug":"breaking-news-the-glue-of-the-dodgers-makes-a-stunning-return-to-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41329","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: “The Glue of the Dodgers” Makes a Stunning Return to the Field!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Barnes back for another season as the one of the Dodgers\u2019 \u2018glue guys\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"Austin<\/p>\n

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Veteran catcher from Riverside “understands the fabric of and culture of our club,” manager Dave Roberts says.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2013 The longest tenured position player on the Dodgers\u2019 roster prefers to keep his head down while focusing on the daily grind, even as the potential end of an era looms.<\/p>\n

Austin Barnes is as decorated as anybody on the current roster when it comes to team accomplishments, with two World Series rings and four appearances in the Fall Classic.<\/p>\n

The SoCal kid on the hometown team has 10 seasons of major league experience, with over 8 1\/2 years of official service time, and every one of his previous seasons has ended in the postseason. Barnes has 44 games of playoff experience, 17 of which have come in World Series games.<\/p>\n

He even caught the final strike of the 2020 World Series, flipping his catcher\u2019s mask in the air before jamming the baseball in his back pocket to later present as a keepsake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not many guys playing today that have caught the last out of a World Series game and that have been a part of an organization for so long,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cI think he understands the fabric of and culture of our club. He\u2019s one of the glue guys, he really is.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys respect him, and he does whatever we need from him. He\u2019s one of the guys I count on for consistency and messaging and also performance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Riverside native could be gone by now, but the front office would not have it.<\/p>\n

Barnes signed a two-year contract extension midway through the 2022 season that paid him through 2024. Yet he is still here, in 2025, occupying his familiar corner locker in the Camelback Ranch clubhouse.<\/p>\n

In a week to remember this past fall, Barnes celebrated the Dodgers\u2019 World Series title in New York, rode atop a bus through downtown Los Angeles amid 250,000 revelers two days later in the championship parade, and waited just three days more to learn that the club was picking up his $3.5 million option for 2025.<\/p>\n

After a series of life-changing events, he refuses to make a big deal about any of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I don\u2019t really like to look too far ahead or too far behind,\u201d Barnes said after playing in Sunday\u2019s spring game against the Athletics. \u201cI think there will be a time for that. I\u2019ve been very lucky to be on really good teams, playing in some important games. I couldn\u2019t ask for a better thing than to play for the Dodgers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The club\u2019s contract option had no buyout clause.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers could have let Barnes walk at no cost and found a veteran backup for less.<\/p>\n

But the steady presence behind the plate, who has served as Clayton Kershaw\u2019s regular catcher, continues to have value to the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think me and (Kershaw) relate just to the kind of competitors we are, whether we\u2019re playing basketball or ping pong or golf,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cComing up, I feel like he\u2019s been in the league since I was in the third grade but he likes to remind me that he\u2019s only a year older than me. But it\u2019s awesome to be able to go out there and go to war with him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Quiet by nature, the Arizona State alum studies behind the scenes to make sure he is prepared as anybody at calling a game. His 59 games (42 starts) as Will Smith\u2019s backup last season were the lowest of his career, not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and yet he never cut corners with his preparation time.<\/p>\n

Without any guarantees beyond this season, Barnes\u2019 Dodgers days could be coming to a close, but his primary concern still is to assist others in order to bring about another playoff run.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to strike a balance, but I realize here, with how many good pitchers we have, that as a catcher, if you didn\u2019t take care of the defensive side \u2026 they\u2019re trusting you,\u201d Barnes said about trying to strike a balance of being prepared for the staff while also trying to stay sharp as a hitter.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe organization has put me in some big games for a reason. They trust me behind the plate and the way I can navigate a lineup. Yeah, you take pride on playing both sides of the baseball, but defense is very important.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

RARE SIGHTING<\/h4>\n

New Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell made just his second start in Cactus League play, giving up four runs on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 3 2\/3 innings of Sunday\u2019s game against the Oakland Athletics.<\/p>\n

Snell, who signed a five-year, $182 million contract in the offseason, pitched just one inning in a game against the Seattle Mariners on Feb. 25, giving up a hit with a strikeout.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants to come into spring and they\u2019ll expect, \u2018Oh, Cy Young Blake,\u2019 but that\u2019s not realistic,\u201d Snell said. \u201cI\u2019m learning, I\u2019m growing, I\u2019m getting better. It takes all of spring to really start figuring it out that I need to do this or need to do this a little different than I did last year. You\u2019re figuring out who you are this year. It\u2019s such a big thing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty happy with it. Fastball command could get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snell did pitch on a back field Monday to stay on track for the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

His next outing is scheduled to come in an exhibition game in Japan and he will pitch one time, either in a Freeway Series game against the Angels or a simulated game.<\/p>\n

GROVE DONE FOR SEASON<\/h4>\n

Right-hander Michael Grove will not pitch in 2025 after undergoing right shoulder labrum surgery.<\/p>\n

Moved into the bullpen last season, Grove got off to a fast start with 37 strikeouts over 28 1\/3 innings over his first 22 outings. He slowed down considerably by the start of June and had a 4.76 ERA over his last 17 outings, while spending nearly two months on the injured list with lat tightness.<\/p>\n

A member of the National League Division Series roster, Grove made one appearance against the San Diego Padres before he was replaced by right-hander Ben Casparius.<\/p>\n

He was not included on the NL Division Series or World Series rosters.<\/p>\n

The shoulder repair of Grove\u2019s second major surgery since 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s already had Tommy John. He didn\u2019t want to do another surgery, and he tried to tough it out and pitch through it,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut it was just compromising his performance and recovery. He\u2019s obviously disappointed, given he was ready to compete for a job this year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In 64 career appearances (20 starts) over three seasons, Grove is 7-7 with a 5.48 ERA with 151 strikeouts and 45 walks in 149 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Austin Barnes back for another season as the one of the Dodgers\u2019 \u2018glue guys\u2019 Veteran catcher from Riverside “understands the fabric of and culture of our club,”… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS: "The Glue of the Dodgers" Makes a Stunning Return to the Field! - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41329\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS: "The Glue of the Dodgers" Makes a Stunning Return to the Field! 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