The Reds announced Friday that catcher Tucker Barnhart had agreed to a four-year contract through 2021 with a club option for 2022. The deal reportedly is worth $23 million, including a $1.75 million bonus. The club has a $500,000 buyout for the option season.
Latest: Reds approach team home run record
Hal McCoy: Deck McGuire’s long road to Cincinnati
“He’s the right guy at the right time,” Dick Williams, president of baseball operations and general manager, said at a press conference attended by CEO Bob Castellini, manager Bryan Price, Barnhart’s wife Sierra and newborn son Tatum and parents Kevin and Pam. “We’re pleased that ownership was behind the deal and gave us the resources to get it done.”
“There’s something unique about Tucker, and that is that he’s extremely genuine, and that goes a long way in the clubhouse,” Castellini said. “He’s a genuine team player.”
“Obviously, I’m extremely humbled and grateful for all the kind words,” said Barnhart, 26, who would have been eligible for salary arbitration for the first time after this season. “It means a lot. Now I’m ready to go out and win some ballgames.”
Barnhart, a former Dayton Dragon, was looking forward to not having to worry about distractions such as arbitration.
“I just want the opportunity to play,” he said. “I want to produce for the team. I’ll admit that there have been times this year when I’ve thought about what’s going to happen moving forward. Wiping that out and just worrying about winning is all I want to do.
“My wife and I were joking that we’re getting all of the marriage stuff out of the way. We got married a couple of years ago, bought a house, had a son, and now the contract. It’s been like a whirlwind. It’s surreal. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. It probably won’t until the off-season, but it’s something that I wanted to happen.”
Williams and Price especially appreciate the opportunity to have on hand a stabilizing influence for the platoon of young pitchers just now reaching the major leagues.
“Having the opportunity to manage a ballclub with such a young group of pitchers and seeing the influence Tucker has on them is bigger than I can say,” Price said. “It’s something to watch. It comes from a ton of hard work and dedication and having your heart in the right place.”
“The choice to invest in Tucker was an easy one, because you can see how he influences so many other players on the field,” Williams said. “He makes everybody else better. I can’t think of a better place to put money into starting a foundation.”
The 10th-round pick in the 2009 first-year player draft has been the Reds’ starting catcher since May 2016, when Devin Mesoraco suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Barnhart led the club with 96 starts behind the plate last season while making 98 starts this year going into Friday’s game. The switch-hitter was batting .272 with six home runs and 42 runs batted while batting mostly eighth in the lineup.
Over the course of the last two seasons, Barnhart has built a reputation as one of the best catchers in the majors. This year he leads all of them in fielding percentage, runners caught stealing and assists, and his percentage of runners caught stealing — 44 (27-of-62) — leads the National League and ranks second in the majors..
With just one error this season, Barnhart has followed a career-high 52-game errorless streak with an active 50-game errorless streak. Over the last two seasons, he has thrown out 39 percent of the baserunners attempting to steal.
Offensively, Barnhart went into Friday’s game on pace to establish career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and is nearing career bests in games, hits, doubles, RBIs and home runs.
Mesoraco and the Reds agreed to a four-year, $28 million contract through 2018 on Jan. 26, 2015, just after he was named to the National League team for the All-Star Game. Since then, he’s played 95 games, including 56 starts, while dealing with surgical procedures to repair injuries to both hips and his left shoulder. The 2007 first-round draft pick played in 56 games, including 39 starts, this season before he was hit by a pitch that fractured his left foot in August.
Barnhart, a lifelong Reds fan picked by Cincinnati in the 10th round of the June 2009 draft, relishes the opportunity to continue his career in Cincinnati.
“I’m playing in my backyard,” the Brownsburg, Indiana native said. “Nobody is nearly as close as the Reds.”
About the Author