According to Jon Heyman today on X, the Cincinnati Reds have signed old friend Tucker Barnhart to a minor league deal. Your girlfriend’s favorite player in 2017 and the fan favorite is back in Cincinnati on a MiLB deal.
Tucker Barnhart was recently DFA’d by the Arizona Diamondbacks, whom signed him to a MLB deal earlier in the offseason. He went unclaimed, didn’t play since, and is now landing himself back closer to home (Indianapolis) to familiar ground, Cincinnati, OH.
As a Reds fan, this is very much welcomed, because our catcher depth isn’t the greatest, and we’ve had spurs of injuries from Luke Maile, making Nick Krall tap into some of ’em. Austin Wynns is out for the year. Eric Yang has no MLB pedigree. Now, the Reds will add our old friend back to the system.
Tucker’s 2024
It hasn’t been much to write home about, that’s for sure, hence why the Reds were able to get him back on a minor league deal. He hasn’t been the same defensively since he left, and this year is no exception. He’s worth -2 FRV, his pop time is a little slower, his framing has been amongst the worst in the league, & offensively? Let’s not talk about it, mate. Yikes. But still, it’s an MiLB deal, and it’s fun! Welcome back, Tuck!