Jose

Barrero

There’s an avenue for Barrero to make it to Baltimore’s injury-depleted bench mix at some point in the coming weeks with utility specialist Jorge Mateo facing a two-month absence due to a hamstring strain. The 27-year-old elected free agency over the weekend after being jettisoned from St. Louis’ 40-man roster and passing through waivers unclaimed.

Barrerro was removed from the team’s 40-man roster earlier in the week as the Cardinals needed to clear a spot for Garrett Hampson’s arrival. He passed through waivers unclaimed though and will continue to serve as extra depth at the Triple-A level. He can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Barrero has been jettisoned from St. Louis’ bench mix to make room for newly claimed utility specialist Garrett Hampson after hitting .138 (4-for-29) with one homer across 22 games. The 27-year-old’s defensive versatility should give him some appeal elsewhere as a potential waiver wire claim.

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Jose Barrero taking over in center field and batting ninth on Sunday afternoon in his place. The 24-year-old speedster has been struggling of late, hitting .202 (17-for-84) with one homer, eight steals and 32 strikeouts over his last 30 games.

As expected, Donovan makes his return to Sunday’s lineup following a four-game absence due to a left big toe sprain. The 28-year-old on-base machine is back at second base and leading off with Masyn Winn getting a rare day off. It’ll be Jose Barrero taking over at shortstop on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.

Winn is batting second against the Pirates. Jose Barrero returns to the bench in spite of his big game in the victory last night, which included a homer, a double and three RBI.

The bottom of the order did damage for the Cardinals on Monday night, and Barrero did much of it at the very bottom of the St. Louis lineup. He swatted a solo homer in the third, and a ground-rule double turned a 4-3 lead into a 6-3 cushion in the sixth inning. Barrero is now slugging .538, but it’s a sample of four games. He shouldn’t be considered in mixed leagues.

Winn will get some extra time to rest and recover after making an early exit from the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Mets with a mild left ankle sprain. The 23-year-old shortstop told reporters he’s aiming to return to Tuesday’s lineup after waking up feeling better than expected. It’ll be Jose Barrero at shortstop on Monday night in his absence.

The Cardinals don’t want to take any chances with Winn’s ongoing back issues, which sent him to the injured list last month, so they’ll get him off his feet for the opening contest of Sunday’s twin bill at Busch Stadium. It’ll be Jose Barrero taking a turn at shortstop in his place. Fantasy managers should anticipate him being out there for the nightcap affair.

The 27-year-old Barrero, who owns a .497 OPS in 447 major league plate appearances for the Reds from 2020-23, was hitting .299/.396/.517 with four homers in 23 games for Memphis. He will get some starts against lefties, but he’s not being called up to play a ton.