Dalton Rushing Promoted, Austin Barnes Designated For Assignment

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of Dalton Rushing and designated Austin Barnes for assignment prior to Wednesday’s game against the Athletics.

Even when factoring in Barnes’ offensive struggles over multiple seasons, the Dodgers’ DFA decision comes as somewhat of a surprise. Barnes was in his 11th season with the team as the longest-tenured position player on the Dodgers roster.

He regularly is lauded for helping manage the pitching staff and being a strong presence in the clubhouse. Barnes won two World Series during his Dodgers career.

This season, he was batting .214/.233/.286 with three doubles and two RBI. In addition to a down year at the plate, Barnes was struggling with preventing stolen bases.

The Dodgers signed Barnes to a two-year, $7 million contract extension in July 2022. His contract was guaranteed through 2024 and included a $3.5 million team option for 2025 that was exercised.

“It’s a great organization, obviously, and I’ve been part of some special teams. I think that’s part of the future, too. It’s either World Series or nothing,” Barnes said at the time of signing his contract extension. “That’s the kind of team I want to be part of.”

The Dodgers acquired Barnes as part of a trade in 2014 that sent Dee Strange-Gordon, Dan Haren and Miguel Rojas to the Miami Marlins. The Dodgers also received Andrew Heaney, Chris Hatcher and Kiké Hernández in the deal.

Dalton Rushing gets opportunity

Rushing is up with the Dodgers for the first time in his career. There was some thought his MLB debut would come during the 2024 season, and while that didn’t take place, Rushing expressed an understanding of needing to be patient for his opportunity.

That now comes after Rushing started the season batting .308./.424/.514 with five doubles, five home runs and 17 RBI through 31 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

While primarily starting at catcher for the Comets, Rushing has also played nine games (eight starts) at first base this season, two (one start) in left field and started four games as their designated hitter.