The Los Angeles Dodgers made the shocking decision to move on from Austin Barnes as they designated the longtime catcher for assignment earlier this week.
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Barnes was slashing .214/.233/.286 with two RBIs and an OPS of .518 across 44 plate appearances. The Dodgers roster is arguably one of the best in baseball, but that has in turn created a problem for young players in the farm system.
With so much star talent at the big league level, prospects spend years waiting for their chance to prove themselves. This was the case for Dalton Rushing, who was essentially blocked from reaching the majors with both Will Smith and Barnes on the roster.
The Dodgers felt it was best to part ways with Barnes, in order to give Rushing time in the majors, per president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
“Rush has obviously been on our radar for a long time in terms of when and how to introduce him to the major league team,” Friedman said to The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. “I think with the improvements we’ve seen year over year, coupled with being in a tight division race … I think it falls in line with our consistent message of doing anything and everything we can to win.”
Friedman admitted the Barnes DFA was a tough decision for the team, especially since the backstop spent 11 seasons in L.A.
“Obviously Austin has been a huge part of this organization for a long time, he’s been in the middle of a lot of really big moments for us,” Friedman said. “His impact has been significant. So it was one of the harder decisions.”
Rushing made his MLB debut Thursday against the Athletics. He went 2-for-4 with a single and a walk. The Dodgers top prospect is expected to get a steady number of starts as the team’s catcher.
“The last mile of his development is helping lead a major league staff,” Friedman said. “We felt like now is the right time to give him that opportunity, and for us to learn some things about him that you can’t know until they’re at the major-league level, and for him to experience the speed of game here, which will be insightful for all of us in terms of the next set of things to work on.”
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