Tucker

Barnhart

Barnhart has decided to hang up his spikes after a dozen years in the majors from 2014-2025 that included stints with the Reds, Tigers, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Rangers. The 34-year-old backstop got into eight contests earlier this year with Texas and calls it a career after 920 big-league games.

Barnhart is back in the fold with the Rangers as emergency catching depth at Triple-A Round Rock after electing free agency earlier this week. The 34-year-old journeyman passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from the club’s active roster over the weekend.

Barnhart will head to the open market rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. The 34-year-old journeyman should be able to latch on somewhere as emergency catching depth. He went 3-for-13 at the dish in eight games for the Rangers.

It didn’t make a ton of sense for the Rangers to continue carrying three catchers with Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka healthy. Barnhart figures to pass through waivers unclaimed and head to free agency, unless he wants to stick around at Triple-A Round Rock.

Heim appeared to injure his right hand and was unable to continue due to difficulty throwing the ball back to the mound. He was replaced by Tucker Barnhart. The silver lining here is that the Rangers are carrying three catchers already so they might not need to make a roster move at all. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Higashioka reported tightness in that intercostal area, and the Rangers won’t play shorthanded. There’s a decent chance he’ll be back in the early portion of May, but for now, catching duties belong to Jonah Heim and Tucker Barnhart.

Barnhart returns to the majors as emergency catching depth for the Rangers with backup Kyle Higashioka dealing with a hamstring issue. The 34-year-old journeyman can be ignored in all fantasy formats.

MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry reports Higashioka may require a trip to the injured list, but that hasn’t happened yet. The Rangers are bringing veteran Tucker Barnhart up from the minors as emergency catching depth behind starter Jonah Heim.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds that Ahmed and Barnhart are still weighing the possibility of opting out of their minor league deals to hit free agency. There are no real surprises here among the latest batch of cuts, but Osuna stands out since he made a really strong impression this spring to put himself in position as an option for the Rangers outfield mix at some point later this year.

Texas is already set with Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate, but the light-hitting Barnhart could step in if anyone gets hurt. The Rangers might need that insurance, since usual third catcher Sam Huff is out of options and might not clear waivers in the spring. Barnhart, a former Gold Glover in Cincinnati, has seen decreasing opportunities of late, largely because he’s hit .208/.286/.255 the last three years.