The Giants have signed catcher Austin Barnes to a minor league deal, as per Barnes’ MLB.com profile page (hat tip to FanSided’s Jeff Young). Barnes has been assigned not to Triple-A but to the Giants’ Arizona Complex League team, likely for a ramp-up period before heading to a higher affiliate.
The backstop’s 11-season run with the Dodgers ended when Los Angeles released Barnes back in May. Should Barnes make the Giants’ roster, San Francisco will owe him only the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary, and the Dodgers will be on the hook for the remainder of the $3.5MM salary Barnes was owed for the 2025 season.
San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey knows a thing or two about catching, so the idea of adding another respected veteran to the team’s catching ranks behind the plate probably held some particular appeal for the Giants, especially at virtually no cost. Adding a former longtime member of the Giants’ arch-rival might also provide an added bonus if Barnes can share a few secrets from his long stint in Dodger Blue.
Starting catcher Patrick Bailey is an elite defender who has struggled badly with the bat this season, and Andrew Knizner has provided even less offense since his contract was selected to the big league roster earlier this month. Sam Huff and Logan Porter provided little in limited duty this season, and Porter remains on the Giants’ 40-man roster while Huff was outrighted following a DFA earlier this month. Max Stassi, Huff, and now Barnes are experienced catchers in the minor league pipeline that the Giants would have to add to the 40-man in order to bring them up to the Major League roster.
Barnes would likely not bring much in the way of offense himself, as the 35-year-old has a career slash line of .223/.322/.338 over 1757 career plate appearances in the Show. Barnes’ numbers dipped to just a .518 OPS over 44 PA this season when the Dodgers opted to designate and then release Barnes to make way for top prospect Dalton Rushing as Will Smith’s new backup.
While Barnes has had his share of moments at the plate over the years, he has carved out his long career as a defensive specialist. Long regarded as a strong blocker, pitch-framer, and handler of pitchers, Barnes unofficially acted as Clayton Kershaw’s personal catcher for years, even when such catchers as Smith or Yasmani Grandal were the established starters in L.A.
Assuming he is selected to the Giants active roster in due course, Barnes will go from working with Kershaw to another future Hall-of-Famer in Justin Verlander, not to mention ace Logan Webb and former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. Barnes’ veteran knowhow might also be helpful in mentoring younger rotation arms like Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp, who have been tasked with greater responsibility in pitching key innings for a Giants team that is trying to contend for the playoffs.
We sign catchers to minor league deals. Get over it.
Posey not very good at it.
Nooooooooo
I’m very surprised he gets paid millions to stay at home why take a minor league spot
I’m always surprised by the number of baseball fans who don’t understand that baseball players like to play baseball.
I worked in minor league baseball during college and couple years after college and I saw how much of a grind it is for those players. Long days, lots of travel time, away from home & family for very little pay. The only thing that drove them was they knew they had a chance to play in MLB and make a very good living doing it. Except Barnes already has played in MLB and did it for 11 years and won 2 World Series and was paid millions and now has a MLB pension. To me it would be like being an intern for a company and working your way up to a CEO and then being forced out after 11 years, but they still pay you anyway. Then after 11 years as a CEO you go start being an intern at a different company.
Of those minor leaguers, probably not one in a hundred gets even a taste of MLB. Who exposes themselves to those odds and that grind if they don’t do it out of a love for the game? And who can make it to the majors and stick there if it’s all about a paycheck? The old saying “if you do something you love you will never work a day in your life,” applies here. I suppose lots of people work in jobs they hate and can’t wait until they are able to retire. I’ve never heard a ballplayer say so — at least, not a successful one.
@Zerbs
I think you’re conflating a few things here. I get the intent behind the CEO analogy. It sounds like you’re trying to convey that he reached the highest level. But Barnes was a backup catcher. So more like a VP than a CEO. That also means he if he were fired, with his resume he could take a upper or middle manager job somewhere else in hopes to become a VP again once more… or continue to lose his job and reevaluate.
He’s also in a completely different position than the MiLB guys you saw grinding it out:
(1) He’s financially set, so he can literally afford to take his time and be selective
(2) He got to choose the team that gives him the clearest path back to the majors. Most MiLB players don’t get that luxury
(3) Even if he’s declined, there are worse bets to make than a 10+ year vet as a backup. His level of experience is something prospects can’t match. Heck, even some of the guys the Giants HAVE used as backup catchers only wish to have his accolades
(4) And honestly, baseball is probably what he knows best. Sure, he could retire and enjoy life on a beach, but chances are he misses the grind. The same grind you painted in a negative light is something someone with his experience might actually see as meaningful or even fulfilling
If he proves himself capable of getting a contract next year, he gets paid at worst the league minimum-$1 million for playing baseball.
Just because you’ve made money doesn’t mean you don’t want to make more.
By all accounts one of his strengths is as a great teammate and clubhouse guy. For some teams that is what they feel is missing. It’s one of the reasons he stuck with the Dodgers for so long.
I can see him going into coaching at some point in the future. So working within another teams system can only help in that regard.
Also, lots of veteran players move into coaching, managing and front office jobs after their playing careers are done. Most of them probably aren’t doing it for the money.
In my experience not all of them love it, Rendon is probably the most public of players that lets the public know he doesn’t even like baseball. I think as fans we want players to love it because we love it, but I can see your point. Just if I had the opportunity to stay home and be at all my kids events and not worry about money I would do that. I wouldn’t try to cling on.
I think some of them cling on because they don’t know anything but baseball. A game they have played for the majority of their lives.
Yea I could understand more going into a coaching position.
Ballplayers may dislike the business of the game, the travel, the internal politics, and other challenging aspects of playing, but I’ve never once heard a ballplayer say that they hated the game itself. A person doesn’t take up a sport as a child (which you have to do in order to be any good at it later on) if you dislike it. In fact, I can’t recall anyone who was willing to put much work into any career or activity that didn’t interest them at all. So this is not just me as a fan wanting to believe this in the case of baseball; it is just the direct logic of the situation. I keep coming back to the idea that a lot of people hate their jobs and believe everybody else should too.
si.com/mlb/angels/news/angels-news-anthony-rendons…
You realize that this is complete hearsay, right?
A 90 year old Tommy Lasorda had more offense than Austin Barnes.
A 90-year old Tommy Lasorda and Austin Barnes can at least play better than you, DarrenDreifortsContract.
Getting emotional over a 35 year old backup minor league catcher.
Crazy times we live in.
Not really emotional, it’s just the truth of the matter.
That’s because DarrenDreifortsContract ability dried up before the pen was manufactured
What a pointless comment though. I’m sure Barnes can play better than anyone of us who comments on these articles, but so what? Does that mean no one is allowed to have an opinion on how he plays? Grow up man
A 90 year old Tommy couldn’t squat and call a game like Barnes though
But he surely could annoy the plate umpire.
Yeah….Lasorda could be pretty offensive.
Kershaw’s old catcher? Buster really scraping the bottom of the barrel w/ this one
Perhaps, but who better to back up Bailey? At this juncture ANY upgrade —small as it may be— is welcomed. Bailey is lost at the plate.
I miss the old giants-dodgers rivalry it hasn’t been the same since 2021
You traitor, if you were signing to a minors deal, why not come back to LA?!
yeah I’m sure he can get his old job back
If anyone was a traitor it was the Dodgers for cutting Barnes instead of Conforto. And based on Rushing’s hitting, Kim deserves the at-bats more. Outfield of Teo, Andy and Tommy. Infield of Fred, Mook, Max, Will and Hyeseong.
Good luck to Barnes, he has multiple rings and earned the right to play wherever he wants – though surely as a backup.
He has multiple rings because he was along for the ride with some very talented teams. He’s a run-of-the-mill backup catcher, nothing more. Conforto has more value, even in an off year.
They are both ground to second for the third out specialists
For his career more than a minors catcher throughout his years with the Dodgers he was a decent backup… now I’m not so sure. But might as well take a flier on him
Great. The Giants are one of worst hitting teams in MLB
And they already have a catch only guy who can’t hit a lick in Bailey
And now they sign Barnes. A catch only guy that LAD just released that also can’t hit a lick
Why are you so obsessively against the Giants? With a Greg Luzinski avatar to boot.
Yeah, but Bailey is the game’s best defensive catcher, so it’s best to pencil him in more.
Barnes was hitting better than Bailey, which is the scary part
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 Dodger fan here. But good on you Austin hopefully you get another crack at the big leagues
A whole lot of hand wringing over a minor league backup catcher.
No hand wringing from me, but if he ever suits up in a Giants uniform it will sure look strange on him.
That’s the kind of players they love around here. Austin Barnes, Adam Frazier, JD Davis, Chris Taylor, Chris Flexen, Dakota Hudson, etc. A bunch of has-beens and never-weres. You’d think they were MVPs from reading the comments on here over the years. And they hate on guys who have real talent like ONeil Cruz and Luis Robert.
“That’s the kind of players they love around here”
… white guys?
A bunch of has-beens and never-weres.
He clearly said that in his statement.
Yech, to that statement. Barnes wasn’t called a has-been or never-was by the pitchers he handled. They always spoke very highly of his game-calling skills. Talented receivers make good pitchers better. I am always shocked by the number of fans who seemingly don’t understand that this is the most important part of a catcher’s job. If they can also hit above average then that’s just icing on the cake.
When I read “Andrew Bailey” I thought our pitching coach was back LOL. Don’t worry we all make mistakes.
Anybody but the battery chucking Giants! Barnes will no doubt get a walk-off hit off a Dodger reliever.
I wish Sam nothing but the best!
Me too
Third catcher for the playoffs, when teams typically drop their fifth starter and sometimes even one of their relievers. It lets them pinch hit for Bailey in a close game with RISP and still have a premium defensive catcher for a few innings.
If Barnes happens to live in Arizona, he might not even get to AAA until mid-August, just hang out at home and go work out with the ACL team and act as an extra coach.
Playoffs? Don’t talk about – playoffs! You kidding me? Playoffs?
Seriously, a PS appearance isn’t looking very likely right now.
First 10 games team or last 10 games team ?
Which one shows up more in the second half ?
I’m keeping the faith, but the last 10 games team is really hard to watch.
Hopefully Chapman returns and gets the boys back on the early track. Plenty of time left, just need to get clicking again.
I’m generally optimistic, but unfortunately it isn’t just the last 10 games. Since May 1st they’re 1 game under .500. The last 10 games are very telling though since they were playing teams that they should have done better against. They’re now 5th among WC contenders.
And while Chapman is a solid bat, he isn’t the hitter that carries a team. I’ve always thought he should bat lower in the order, since I think he’s miscast as a clean-up hitter. I understand why he does, because they have no one better, but I don’t see the offense suddenly coming alive with his return.
Knew they were not gonna stay as hot as they started. By the same logic they can’t stay this cold either. Just hope they find the middle, get consistent, and it’s not too late. This part of the schedule though, was when they really could have gained ground. That’s my biggest frustration.
Dodgers made a huge mistake by releasing Barnes . It will come back to bite them in the rear at the end of the season
Giants should trade for Sean Murphy and be done with it
LOL enjoy never being able to throw out a runner
Who you referring to
Barnes and Bailey…a real circus!