DETROIT, MI – JULY 31: Mike Gerber #13 of the Detroit Tigers hits a RBI double in the eighth inning in front of Tucker Barnhart #16 of the Cincinnati Reds at Comerica Park on July 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 2-1. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Thanks to a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, the Detroit Tigers have secured a talented catcher to help bolster their roster going forward.
The Detroit Tigers have brought in a huge addition thanks to a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. Former Gold Glove winner Tucker Barnhart is leaving Cincinnati for Detroit, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman.
The 30-year-old catcher Barnhart has been with the Reds since 2014 after being drafted by the Reds organization out of the 2009 draft. Cincinnati decided to move Barnhart as he comes closer to free agency as his contract will be up following the 2022 season.
Detroit Tigers land Tucker Barnhart in trade with Cincinnati Reds
Landing Barnhart can certainly help Detroit improve going forward.
“Coming into this off-season, we knew that catcher was a priority position for us,” Detroit Tigers General Manager Al Avila said. “During our strategy meetings over the last couple of weeks in Lakeland with my front office staff, Tucker’s name came up many times as an attractive option for our ball club as someone who is a real plus defender, knows how to lead a pitching staff and is a solid contributor from the batter’s box. After feeling interest from the Reds to make a deal, we moved quickly to make it happen and kick off our off-season transactions.”
Who is Nick Quintana?
Quintana was drafted in the second round in 2019, but became expendable due to increasing infield depth in the Tigers organization.
Tucker Barnhart contract
Barnhart has one year and $7.5 million left on his contract, which the Tigers will pay in full.
While Detroit still need to make a few more moves, there are some big names they can certainly continue to chase this offseason. This is also a huge step forward that should help them considerably.
Barnhart isn’t necessarily great at the plate, he does have a fairly respectable .247 batting average from this past season. His presence behind the plate does make him a bit more valuable and that should help Detroit.