Dodgers Really Need to Bring in a New Catcher
What are the Dodgers going to do with poor Austin Barnes? I have a couple of suggestions, but in the meantime the club really needs to bring in a new catcher. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Look, I don't want to kick a man when he's down, but Barnes has been down for three years without a break, and it's not a slump, OK? The man can't hit. And you don't want him facing Gerrit Cole or Aroldis Chapman with a championship on the line.
So what if Barnes is out of options? A player being out of options has never stopped Dodgers big boss Andrew Friedman from manipulating the system to his benefit. An injury, real or imagined, has solved that problem in the past and it will again. Catchers get hurt, by the way, and if a catcher in the Los Angeles organization goes down, AF better pray that it's Barnes. Because if Will Smith hits the IL with nobody worthy to replace him, good luck getting those elusive 11 wins (or whatever is now) this October.
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Barnes' statistics? You sure you want to see this? The numbers are horrifying, so please safeguard the children.
Barnes in 2018: .205/.329/.296, with four home runs an 14 RBIs in 100 games and 200 at bats. Barnes in 2019: .203/.293/.340, with five homers and 25 RBIs in 75 games and 212 at bats. Barnes so far in 2020: .100/.182/.100, with no doubles, triples or homers He's 2-20, with an RBI. An RBI, singular. All told Barnes is hitting .199/.305/.306, with 9 HR and 40 RBIs since his fluke season of 2017 -- a fluke; not a breakout -- when he managed a .289/.408/.487, 8 and 38.
The Dodgers had no choice but to start Barnes in parts of two postseasons because Yasmani "Butterfingers" Grandal couldn't catch or hit the baseball (.107/.164/.200, with 35 strikeouts in 75 at bats in 32 games in nine series). But it's not like Barnes is much of an improvement. L.A.'s 30-year-old backstop has a rip-roaring .158/.235/.224 postseason line, with a homer, seven RBIs and 25 strikeouts in 76 at bats. He's 2-29 (.069) with 14 strikeouts in his last three October series.
Pitch framing is a thing, sure, but there are catchers on teams the world over who can frame pitches. And throw out more runners than Barnes' career 21%. And hit better walking up to the plate with a pencil than our man does with a Louisville Slugger.
So yeah, the Dodgers need a new catcher. I don't know if the Coltrane ship has sailed or not, but in February I said this about that:
"Former Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin is available for hire. I'd argue that even at 37 years of age he's a more compelling player than Austin Barnes and would likely come cheap. He's a fan favorite for good reason and a leader in the clubhouse. Like no other position on a baseball team, a catcher could be lost to injury at any time."
Catchers who should be available shortly if not already include the switch-hitting Tucker Barnhart, Salvador Perez, Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine, of the Reds, Royals, Marlins and Tigers, respectively. An Austin-Barnes-for-Austin-Romine-plus-a-minor-leaguer trade? Stranger things have happened.
It's also possible that L.A. will give catching prospect Keibert Ruiz a try. Ruiz is a 20-year-old switch hitter, who arrived late to Summer Camp after COVID-related issues and is currently at the Dodgers' alternate site. More about him here.
Is being a part-time catcher in a pennant race and potential World Series too much responsibility for a newcomer like Ruiz? Maybe, but there's only one way to find out. If it happens, my money is on Ruiz getting more wood on the baseball as a raw rookie in 2020 than Barnes does over the course of his career from here on out.
The Dodgers have to do something at catcher. The status quo is simply not an acceptable response.
And remember, glove conquers all.
Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.
Video: Corey Seager, August 7, 2020 pregame, courtesy of SportsNetLA/Los Angeles Dodgers
