Tucker

Barnhart

Barnhart spent 13 years in the Reds organization before the team traded him to the Tigers three years ago. He’s since hit .208/.286/.255 in 168 major league games. He’ll be an option if any Reds catchers get hurt down the stretch.

Barnhart was cut loose by Arizona last weekend after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 33-year-old journeyman backstop should be able to latch on somewhere else as emergency catching depth to close out the year.

Arizona is going to roll with Jose Herrera as their primary backup to starter Gabriel Moreno moving forward. Barnhart is a fine short-term stopgap, but he offers next to nothing at the plate at this stage of his career. The 33-year-old veteran should be able to latch on somewhere else as emergency catching depth.

Barnhart will be DFA’d, with Jose Herrera sticking around as Moreno’s backup. The 33-year-old has hit just .173/.287/.210 this season, though it’s not like that should have surprised the Diamondbacks; he came in at .215/.286/.264 the previous two years.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Moreno is available off the bench and the hope is that he’ll be ready to return to the lineup on Wednesday. It’ll be Tucker Barnhart handling the catching duties for the second straight game on Tuesday night.

Moreno gets a day off after going 0-for-6 in the first two games of the series against Seattle. Tucker Barnhart will handle catching duties and hit seventh against Logan Gilbert and the Mariners for the series finale.

No word yet on the reason for the change. It’ll be Tucker Barnhart handling the catching duties on Tuesday night in Moreno’s absence.

As many starting backstops do, Moreno will sit for Sunday’s finale against Colorado to keep the backstop fresh. Tucker Barnhart will start behind the plate and hit ninth for the defending NL champions.

Barnhart was signed to a minor league contract in January and invited to major league spring training. It appears he’s now won the right to backup Gabriel Moreno at catcher for the Diamondbacks. The veteran hit just .217/.333/.304 in spring training but will provide a veteran presence for the young Diamondbacks lineup.

One last chance for Herrera to impress before the Diamondbacks default to Tucker Barnhart as their backup catcher. We’re not sure Barnhart has anything to offer other than veteran presence at this point, but it’s made him the favorite to serve as Gabriel Moreno’s backup. Herrera doesn’t project as a great backup, either, but he’s probably still the better player.