The Diamondbacks introduced that they’ve chosen the contract of catcher Tucker Barnhart, with right-hander Peter Strzelecki designated for project in a corresponding transfer.
The Snakes got here into spring with simply two catchers on their 40-man roster in Gabriel Moreno and José Herrera. The latter was optioned over the weekend, pointing to Barnhart attending to function Moreno’s backup to open the season, which has now been made official by this transfer.
Barnhart, 33, signed a minor league cope with the D’Backs in January. The veteran has hit a tepid .217/.333/.304 right here in spring, however he’s all the time been a glove-first backstop. In just below 3,000 main league plate appearances in his profession, he has slashed .243/.319/.356 for a wRC+ of 79, indicating he’s been 21% beneath league common.
However he’s been value 12 Defensive Runs Saved in his profession whereas Statcast has seemed favorably on his work each when it comes to blocking and with the operating recreation. Every of Statcast, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus grade him as a below-average framer for his profession, however all three agree that he hit a nadir in 2018 and has been above common over the previous 5 years. He’ll give the membership a stable veteran presence behind the 24-year-old Moreno.
Strzelecki, 29, came visiting to the Diamondbacks from the Brewers in final yr’s deadline swap that despatched Andrew Chafin to Milwaukee. After that deal, Strzelecki was principally stored on optionally available project, solely making one look within the majors for Arizona. Right here in spring, Strzelecki has made 4 appearances, hanging out 4 batters whereas permitting one stroll and two earned runs.
The Diamondbacks will now have one week to commerce the righty or go him by waivers. He has 72 main league innings beneath his belt, principally with the Brewers, with a 3.63 earned run common in that point. He has paired a 24.8% strikeout charge with an 8.7% stroll charge. Over the previous two years, he has a 4.88 ERA in 51 2/3 innings on the Triple-A degree, punching out 34.8% of opponents but additionally strolling 13.6% of them.
Strzelecki nonetheless has an possibility remaining and will attraction to golf equipment in quest of bullpen depth since he wouldn’t require an energetic roster spot. However many golf equipment across the league are going through 40-man roster crunches in the meanwhile as they finalize their selections previous to Opening Day. If he had been to sneak by waivers unclaimed, he would follow the Diamondbacks as bullpen depth however with out taking over a spot on the 40-man.
