The Dodgers have exercised their club option on the services of catcher Austin Barnes for the 2025 season. Barnes will earn $3.5MM in 2025.
Barnes, 35 in December, was a ninth-round pick by the Marlins back in 2011 but has spent his entire big league career with the Dodgers. The veteran first debuted with the club back in 2015 and has now spent parts of ten seasons with L.A. in the majors. While he’s never been an everyday player and only received the lion’s share of playing time behind the plate in 2019 (when he shared duties with veteran Russell Martin and rookie Will Smith), Barnes has proven to be a sturdy and reliable backup catcher for the club throughout his career and has even become something of a personal catcher for franchise legend Clayton Kershaw in recent years.
With Smith under contract for the next decade after signing a ten-year extension back in March, he’s set to remain the club’s starting option behind the plate for the foreseeable future. The Dodgers also have a number of interesting catching prospects in the upper minors including Diego Cartaya and Dalton Rushing. With a number of intriguing internal options at the position, it may come across as something of a shock that the club would pay $3.5MM to retain an aging catcher who has hit just .217/.289/.270 (61 wRC+) over the past two seasons. Surprising as that may seem, however, the veteran remains a fairly well-regarded defender behind the plate with +2 Defensive Runs Saved in just 54 games this year.
For a Dodgers club that routinely runs payrolls at or near the top of the league, $3.5MM is an insignificant price to pay to retain a longtime member of the organization who works well with a franchise icon and offers a reliable, steady option in a year where the club could consider giving those aforementioned youngsters some opportunities to catch at the big league level. It would’ve been a surprise if the Dodgers were willing to commit to either Cartaya or Rushing as Smith’s primary backup on Opening Day of 2025 when neither has so much as a single plate appearance in the majors, and retaining Barnes allows the club to ease those prospects into life at the big league level and give them whatever time they may need at Triple-A to polish their skills and prepare for the big leagues.
Two more option decisions will need to be made over the coming days involving the Dodgers: the team will need to decide whether to bring shortstop Miguel Rojas back on a $5MM option ($1MM buyout), and Kershaw will need to decide whether he wishes to exercise his $10MM player option or head back into free agency (where he’s already indicated he would look to re-sign in Los Angeles).
They won the WS… makes sense to run it back with the immediate improvements they will have, not including their FA/trade acquisitions
Except they need to find room for Dalton Rushing.
They not going to be wasting Rushing’s bat as backup catcher. That’s why he’s getting reps in the outfield….
They will have room for him. They’re still going to lose some players to free agency, but most of their main 9 will be back. Plus, I think he’s still developing for the OF and they probably aren’t signing Hernandez again.
Ya if Atkins had any sense he’d be brining Teo back for LF
Which Hernandez?
I think Teo will be back 100%.
Kike should come back, but no clue what LA FO is thinking regarding him.
Rushing’s future in L.A. isn’t behind the plate. He has been playing a lot of outfield the last couple of years. Kyle Schwarber 2.0
Does that mean bad defense too?
They don’t need to do anything with Rushing. He’s not rule 5 eligible, so he doesn’t even need to be added to the 40 man. He played a lot of LF last year, I’m not even sure he sticks at catcher. If they need a backup catcher next year, Feduccia and or Cartaya will get called first. Both are on the 40 man, and Feduccia was impressive in his debut.
It has nothing to do with being rule 5 eligible. He’s a really good player ready for MLB.
Maybe for some teams, but not for the Dodgers. He played most of his games in the very hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. He has very little experience in the OF, Freeman plays 1B, and he’s not going to get called up to be a backup to Smith. They don’t need to move him to the 40 man roster, and don’t have a need to rush him there. Yes, he’s an exciting player, but I doubt he even sees the 40 man roster before ‘26. So yes, it does have to do with him not being rule 5 eligible. They simply don’t have to add him to the 40 man until he is.
He definitely will be in the majors next year. Having him wait in the minors for no reason serves nobody including the Dodgers. The Dodgers can most certainly use him as a back up catcher while seeing some games in the outfield. Every team needs youth infusions no matter how good they are.
For no reason? He has 243 innings of experience in the OF, and wasn’t exactly a gold glover out there. And again, they have other catchers above him on the depth chart. He doesn’t have a position, and he’ll be 24 years old when the season starts. What are you missing? If the OF is his position, he’ll need a lot more experience out there. I mean, if he starts in AAA and just destroys the baseball and they have an opening with an injury in the OF, maybe he gets called, but he’s got other people above him on the depth chart there too. If he ends up in the majors this year, it will be for a different club.
Cartaya is horrible. He isn’t ahead of him on the depth chart. He will be dfa’d well before he ever sees the Majors. I think you’re overvaluing your outfield. The only one guaranteed to be there is Betts.
They have a combo of Outman and Pages, Edman will get reps and they’ll resign another outfielder. I’m telling you, Rushing won’t be in the starting mix at all breaking camp. And Cartaya isn’t horrible. He’s a better catcher than Rushing, knows how to handle a staff, has a rifle for an arm and he’s younger than Rushing. Rushing went to the OF so Cartaya and Feduucia got all time behind the plate. Both are on the 40 man, Rushing is not. You’re as wrong as thinking the Mets will win anything in four.
A .656 and .686 OPS over the last two years in the minors. What’s that going to equate to in the Majors? Cartaya is not a MLB quality player.
Kershaw’s Ellis 2.0 in recent past, hard to tell now with Kersh’s sporadic availability
Bringing Barnes back for another season is much, much easier to understand if you don’t buy the phony baloney story that he’s anybody’s personal catcher.
Agreed. Perhaps, Kershaw preferred Barnes because he was comfortable with him, as opposed to Smith who was relatively new, at the time. Another myth dispelled.
Barnes is blocking development of the young catchers waiting in the wings. If they don’t want to give these guys playing time either in LF/DH etc. then trade them.
No he’s not lol, they can always carry 3 catchers and have Rushing in LF when he’s not catching
So when they sign Teo or similar where does that put Rushing?
He can stay in the minor leagues and develop more. He’s not even rule 5 eligible.
Play Teo in right, Rushing in left. Mookie at 2nd. Lux on the bench.
Correction: Smith is blocking the development of the young catchers, and he ain’t going anywhere for a while….
That would be so if they only carried one catcher on the MLB roster. If you are correct, why keep them?
They didn’t draft the young studs to warm the bench. With Smith signing the extension, Rushing made a position change. The others will be included in trades if they don’t follow suit….
At some point they need to be given a shot ease them into it… some play C, DH, LF.
You do know DH is locked down for a decade, right?
though when Othani pitches, the DH spot is flexible. You do know that don’t you?
No need to rush Rushing. Everyone is goo goo ga ga over him. But he played at AA first time last year and barely played AAA. Let him come up for an injury replacement next season but allow him to develop at AAA. He doesn’t seem ready defensively and Dodgers already have a DH. He’s not getting blocked, he’s just going through typical progression. Not sure why fans freak out about stuff like this.
You make it seem like Rushing is going to put up all-star caliber numbers. Why would you bring up a high caliber prospect to DH? Probably the most idiotic thing you can do. And Dodgers will have more than enough talent on bench that they don’t need a Rushing. He should be counted on as depth for injuries. Then you can get a taste of how ready he is.
He’ll still be the DH even on days that he pitches. You do know that, don’t you?
When Ohtani pitches, he is the DH. You do know that don’t you?
Barnes is a backup catcher. He’s not blocking anything. Could have gone either way on picking up the club option or going with Feduccia.
Rushing is not ready as a catcher anyways. And prospects don’t come in as backup catchers. He’s more of a bat than a glove. May not be room either for him in the field. At least not initially. He’s better served in 1B/OF at AAA, and ready to fill in for an injury.
Who is he blocking?
Cartaya has hit .205 in his last 188 games.
Rushing didn’t look like MLB material as a catcher and has been playing the outfield.
Liranzo was traded in the Flaherty deal.
Dave! The man. Nailed it.
Oh, ok psych guy. Get right on it.
Psych
Yeah, I think they will move Cartaya, but more for a change of scenery than him being blocked. Some team will overlook Cartaya’s weak average in the hope of taking advantage of his power potential. Mixed reviews on his defense. But catchers are often late bloomers. Barnes is not what is blocking Cartaya, Cartaya is what is blocking Cartaya.
But Rushing, who will stay a Dodger, will be ready at both left field and catcher.
With the automated strike zone inevitably coming, catchers are going to have to hit to stay in the lineup. This bum doesn’t and he’ll never be a manager either so don’t start with that stuff
There won’t be an automated strike zone in 2025, so what does that have to do with anything?
What makes you say he’ll never manage?
You just really, really want to say something negative, huh?
If those idiots running the Dodgers would just listen to terryturnbuckle, maybe they’d finally win something.
Nice of them to keep him around.
The safest job EVER in the big leagues has always been “personal catcher for the star pitcher.” Eddie Perez made a career out of being Greg Maddux’s personal catcher. Doug Mirabelli did the same thing in Boston for Tim Wakefield.
Of Kershaw’s seven starts this season, Barnes caught two of them. So maybe Barnes is his impersonal catcher.
Carlton. McCarver.
Gotta bring back Kershaw’s drinking buddy, even though he missed the whole playoffs with the gout.
No matter who the backup is, he needs to play more. Without the option to DH, Smith played too many games and wore down. Since Barnes’s ineffectiveness must have been a key reason for that, this is a weird retention.
That’s the excuse for Smith every year. He’s fine but needs to pick up his batting which has slipped every year for a while now.
Barnes is fine. He calls a good game and handles the staff well, His bat finally woke up in the 2nd half. That’s all you can ask for in a backup. Smith only played 128 games….
I’m not opposed to the Dodgers retaining Barnes. But I wonder if this is a sign and trade maneuver. Decent catchers, even those that can’t hit, are hard to come by.
If a team trades to make Barnes their starting catcher, it has serious depth issues and needs to hire a new GM….
I agree…I should have been clearer…trade to a team that needs a backup catcher…
Then the Dodgers are forced to go out and find someone just like Barnes who doesn’t have even a tiny fraction of knowledge of the pitching staff that he does. Retaining Barnes is about the easiest call the Dodgers will have to make this offseason. Been saying this all along. Seems like hardly anyone believes it even after it happens.
Hey BlueSkies! Yes, retaining Barnes is a no-brainer for at least 2025. He is as solid a back-up option as they come. I doubt anyone could find me a back-up catcher renowned for their bat.
Max Stassi is about the same level and age as Barnes. Barnes is obviously a backup catcher thats a good deal for 3 mil. By contrast the Angels signed Stassi for 3 years 17. 5 million in 2022 who was the main starting catcher during the Ohtani era.
Barnes has been a great presence for years, but at this point the roster spot is worth more than what he gives… Feduccia is ready to handle the backup catcher duties, and Rushing can be an emergency catcher at the big league level if needed. Both of the two youngsters need to be with the team in ‘25, and use Cartaya as trade bait. They have more catchers coming up from the lower minors as well to help fill long term needs.
Feduccia could be a good backup catcher. He’s also 27, so not really a youngster.
Cartaya probably wouldn’t fetch much. 205 in his last 188 games.
Barnes IS a good backup catcher, a captain, and a great clubhouse presence. He hit .264/.331/.307 last year.
I feel that Cartaya is the backup catcher once Barnes leaves. It’s almost mind blowing how under appreciated Barnes is. Why are people expecting offense out of a backup catcher? His job is to handle the pitching staff, and to be a bridge between the pitching coaches and the pitching staff. And I agree with you on the Captain comment. There’s a reason that Betts has called him the Captain of the team. He does his job extremely well.
Meaningless unless Smith gets hurt.
Meaningless, except for the once a week Barnes catches, and all the side work he does in between.
Would the Dodgers trade rushing for helsley? Maybe other pieces involved?
Trade Hunter Feduccia to the Tigers. I think he could be an excellent catcher with a huge OBP. No power, but he knows the strike zone.
Seems like the dodgers will trade 2 catchers by the time the winter meetings come around
LaD is most likely the only club that would even give this guy a major league contract.
Who should be the backup up catcher?
Nonsense. Pay attention! 10 people have explained why Barnes is an excellent fit for his role.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons they just won the World Series.
Dodgers put a high premium on defense. Not sure Diego or Rushing are ready defensively to play C @major league level yet. This FO just won WS n had best record in baseball all while losing players left n right to injuries, trust the process.
Good for Barnes. Now help kershaw win 16+ games. I bet this is his last year. But why not play if they give you 3.5 mil to catch every 5-6 days.