Cardinals, Jose Barrero Agree To Minor League Deal
11/16/2024 06:22 PM
The Cardinals and utility man Jose Barrero are in agreement on a minor league deal, according to a report from Francys Romero. Per Romero, the deal also includes an invite to big league Spring Training.
Barrero, 27 in April, came up in the Reds organization and received some top-100 prospect buzz following his debut in the shortened 2020 season despite hitting just .194/.206/.194 in 24 games that year. He never quite lived up to that promise as he struggled to establish himself offensively at the big league level, slashing just .184/.248/.267 in the majors from 2021 to 2023 with Cincinnati. Despite that lackluster offensive production in the majors, he has shown some signs of life at the Triple-A level throughout his career. In particular, Barrero hit an impressive .258/.333/.540 with 19 homers, 17 doubles, and 20 stolen bases in just 334 trips to the plate at Triple-A Louisville during the 2023 campaign.
That was Barrero’s final season with the Reds, as he was designated for assignment in March of 2024 when Cincinnati decided he wouldn’t make the club’s active roster despite having no minor league options remaining. That led him to be plucked off waivers by the Rangers, although he was once again designated for assignment in the run-up to Opening Day in order to make room for Jared Walsh on the club’s roster. This time, however, he went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. Unfortunately for Barrero, he wouldn’t crack the majors with the Rangers as he hit just .188/.277/.346 in 49 games with the club’s Round Rock affiliate in an injury plagued season that saw his season debut delayed until May and his final game played on July 4.
Now that Barrero is presumably healthy, however, he elected free agency earlier this month and hit the open market for the first time in his career. That opened the door for him to sign on with the Cardinals, who enter the winter facing plenty of uncertainty as trade rumors swirl around veteran players such as Nolan Arenado. Given the possibility of trades from the club’s positional corps this winter, adding a versatile defender like Barrero could make sense as a potential bench option should he perform in the spring, or even as a non-roster depth piece to protect against injury throughout the year should he remain in the minors.
Barrero’s path to playing time in St. Louis is somewhat complicated, however. The 26-year-old has primarily played shortstop and center field to this point in his career, but the Cards have rookie Masyn Winn locking down shortstop while defensively-gifted youngsters Michael Siani and Victor Scott II figure to vie for regular playing time in center next year. Even so, Barrero could find use as a versatile utility option, as he’s played every position besides first base and catcher throughout his career. It’s even possible that Barrero, should he make his way onto the St. Louis roster next year, finds some playing time as a platoon partner for either Siani or Scott in center field, as both are left-handed hitters with unimpressive offensive numbers against southpaws.
