The Chicago Cubs struck again in free agency to fill a need on their roster, signing 31-year-old catcher Tucker Barnhart on Thursday. Cubs fans should be plenty familiar with him—Barnhart spent his first eight MLB seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, where he won two Gold Gloves behind the dish. Barnhart gives the Cubs another defensive-minded catcher to pair with presumed starter Yan Gomes in 2023.
The deal is for two years (player option for the second year ) and $6.5 million. Jon Heyman reports the deal could reach $9.5 million depending on bonuses and escalators Barnhart hits.
Barnhart, a left-handed hitter, is coming off of a relatively subpar campaign with the Detroit Tigers in 2022. On the season, he slashed .221/.287/.267 in 94 games played. While Barnhart has never been an offensive force, he does sport a .245/.320/.360 slash line over a nine-year career, which is more than serviceable considering the defensive skills he brings to a team.
With Gomes behind the plate, the Cubs already had one above-average defensive catcher, especially considering how Gomes calls games and frames pitches compared to former Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. Now, Barnhart gives Chicago a pair of catchers with impressive defensive pedigree to partner with a solid rotation and bullpen.
Of course, as Barnhart has aged and put the wear and tear on his body that being a catcher inevitably brings, some aspects of his game have tapered off. For instance, in 2017—when Barnhart won his first Gold Glove—he threw out 44% of runners attempting to steal a base on him. That number has dwindled to a still-solid 28% over his past two seasons. For his career, Barnhart is 10th among active catchers in CS% with 31.59%. Fun fact: Gomes is 8th with 32.98%.
While bringing Tucker Barnhart aboard doesn't do much to add firepower to the Chicago Cubs' offense, he does historically hit righties better than lefties. That skill set gives David Ross some options to play around with when constructing lineups. Furthermore, the Cubs clearly prioritized the soft skills and defensive skills behind the plate while trying to sign a new catcher. Barnhart was really the last player left on the market who could check those boxes easily, and the Cubs got him. Not too shabby.
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