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<\/p>\nAustin Barnes has caught each of Roki Sasaki’s last two starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers with positive results.<\/p>\n
First, he went four innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, two walks, and four strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n
Then, he went a career-high five innings against the Chicago Cubs with one run courtesy of a homer on four hits, two walks, and three strikeouts, and he bumped his ERA down to 3.29.<\/p>\n
However, manager Dave Roberts is not ready to commit to the battery long-term: “They’ve spent a lot of time together,” Roberts said via Dodgers Nation. “It’s not like a dedicated battery at all.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But I just felt that Roki had a good one over there (in Philadelphia).<\/p>\n
There’s some familiarity, and let’s kind of just go with that for a little bit.”<\/p>\n
The rookie Sasaki could benefit from having a personal catcher, especially one with the veteran savvy and experience of a guy like Barnes.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old has spent the entirety of his 11-year MLB career with Los Angeles and can provide a steady presence behind the plate while Sasaki continues his transition to American baseball.<\/p>\n
The problem with Barnes, though, is his offensive output. Or, lack thereof.<\/p>\n
Through 13 plate appearances, Barnes had not gotten on base and has struck out five times.<\/p>\n
This is quite literally as bad as it gets offensively, but even his peak is not good enough for consistent playing time. Barnes is a career .221 batter with a .658 OPS and an 80 OPS+.<\/p>\n
He never was and never will be an everyday catcher, particularly with an all-star like Will Smith ahead of him on the depth chart, but that does not mean he cannot still help his team.<\/p>\n
Sasaki is still acclimating to this league and should get to the point where Roberts can pair him with any of his catching options.<\/p>\n
Until then, Sasaki may be Barnes’ best shot at playing time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Austin Barnes has caught each of Roki Sasaki’s last two starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers with positive results. First, he went four innings, allowing one earned… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n