Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Seeing scant work behind Gomes
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Barnhart remains out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Barnhart had already been occupying the smaller side of a timeshare at catcher with Miguel Amaya early last week, but the former has seen his playing-time outlook become worse with the return of Yan Gomes (concussion) from the 7-day injured list. Even with Amaya now back in the minors, Barnhart has now sat out five times in the Cubs' last six games.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: On bench Sunday
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Barnhart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Barnhart has a .464 OPS in 45 plate appearances and will take a seat Sunday for the third time in the past four games. Top catcher Yan Gomes (concussion) is on the injured list, and rookie Miguel Amaya is 1-for-5 with two RBI since his promotion Tuesday.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Sits in second straight
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Barnhart is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins.
Barnhart had started behind the dish in the Cubs' first two games since Yan Gomes suffered a head injury Monday that was later diagnosed as a concussion, but rookie Miguel Amaya will now make a second consecutive start Friday while Barnhart retreats to the bench. Though Barnhart is the more battle-tested backstop and the superior defensive option, his puny .449 OPS over 42 plate appearances has opened the door for Amaya to perhaps become part of a timeshare at the position while Gomes is on the 7-day injured list.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: On bench versus righty
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Barnhart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Barnhart had drawn starts behind the dish on the last two occasions the Cubs opposed right-handed starting pitchers, but he'll take a seat Sunday against Marlins righty Bryan Hoeing, perhaps because the two teams are facing a quick turnaround for the series finale, which starts at 12:05 p.m. ET. Yan Gomes will catch for starting pitcher Justin Steele on Sunday.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Sitting against lefty
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Barnhart is not in the starting lineup Friday against Miami.
Barnhart will take a seat as the Cubs face off against left-hander Jesus Luzardo, with Yan Gomes behind the plate and batting eighth. Barnhart has produced just two hits over his last 18 at-bats while striking out nine times, so it's possible that Gomes, who's batting .257 with two homers and seven RBI over 35 at-bats versus righties this year, sees his workload increase.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Not in lineup Wednesday
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Barnhart is not in the lineup Wednesday versus the Padres.
Yan Gomes will catch and bat eighth with right-hander Michael Wacha on the mound for San Diego. It's the third straight start behind the plate for Gomes, though the previous two starts were versus lefties. He has greatly outperformed Barnhart offensively and may be capturing a larger share of the catcher platoon in Chicago.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Sits against lefty
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Barnhart is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.
Barnhart will be on the bench for the second straight game, with both absences coming with the Cubs facing left-handed pitchers. Though Yan Gomes has logged 25 more plate appearances this season, Barnhart appears to have taken hold of a strong-side platoon role at catcher. Twenty-six of Barnhart's 28 plate appearances to date have come versus right-handed pitching, while Gomes has made only 31 of his 53 plate appearances against righties.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Sitting out Sunday
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Barnhart is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
With Yan Gomes getting the call against Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw, Barnhart will retreat to the bench. The veteran hasn't done much with the bat so far, slashing just .200/.250/.200 with an RBI and a run scored across 25 at-bats. He should continue to split playing time with Gomes, though Luis Torrens, who is starting as the DH on Sunday, could also earn a larger role moving forward.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Picks up first start
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Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Saturday's game against the Brewers.
Yan Gomes started on Opening Day, but he'll head to the bench in favor of Barnhart on Saturday. The two veterans are expected to split catching duties this season. Barnhart struggled offensively this spring, however, and could be slightly behind Gomes in the pecking order at the moment. Gomes will likely bump Barnhart back to the bench Sunday.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Struggles continue Friday
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Barnhart, who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox, is now batting just .071 this spring.
Barnhart has one hit in 14 Cactus League at-bats and has struck out three times. The catcher only batted .221 over 94 games with the Tigers last season, so the Cubs weren't expecting a ton of offense from the offseason addition, though a slight uptick in production would be welcome. Barnhart figures to split time behind the plate with Yan Gomes, though the latter could emerge as the primary option if he hits better.
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Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Signing with Cubs
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Barnhart agreed to a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Cubs on Thursday, which includes a $3.25 million player option for 2024, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Barnhart spent the 2022 campaign with Detroit and had the worst offensive season of his career with a .554 OPS in 94 games. The defensive-minded backstop should platoon with Yan Gomes in Chicago following the departure of Willson Contreras.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Registers three hits in win
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Barnhart went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored and two RBI in Thursday's 10-3 win over the Royals.
Barnhart is batting just .221 this season, but he managed to provide a nice offensive boost Thursday. It was the catcher's fourth three-hit effort of the year and his second in September. Barnhart may see a few more starts in relief of Eric Haase before the season wraps up, and he's unlikely to provide much more fantasy value.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Starting Sunday
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Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Royals.
Barnhart enters the lineup with Eric Haase getting a breather in the series finale. This will be Barnhart's first game action since Tuesday, as he's settled into a clear backup role behind Haase. Barnhart hasn't provided much offense when he has played, with a middling .213/.281/.258 slash line across 83 games this season.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Hits solo homer in loss
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Barnhart went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's loss to the Royals.
Barnhart launched a solo shot in the fifth inning, but the Tigers were behind 9-1 at the time, and it would turn out to be their final score of the game. For Barnhart, it was his first homer of the season. This has not been a productive season for the catcher who is likely to see his lowest run, home run and RBI totals outside of a 54 at-bat rookie year and the shortened 2020 season.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Out of Sunday's lineup
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Barnhart is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.
Manager A.J. Hinch has alternated his starting catcher over the past five games, and that trend will continue Sunday after Barnhart went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Saturday's contest. Eric Haase will work behind the plate and bat fifth in the series finale at Texas.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Out of lineup
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Barnhart will sit Friday against Texas.
Barnhart is slashing just .208/.268/.240 on the season, though he's managed seven hits in his last six games. Eric Haase will start behind the plate Friday.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Sitting Tuesday
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Barnhart is not in the starting lineup Tuesday versus the Giants.
Barnhart will take a seat after he went 1-for-8 with a run scored in the final two games of the Angels series. Eric Haase will take over behind the plate and bat fourth in the series opener.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Riding pine Friday
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Barnhart isn't starting Friday against the Angels.
Barnhart has started mainly against right-handed pitchers this year, and he'll head to the bench with southpaw Patrick Sandoval on the mound Friday. Eric Haase is starting behind the plate and batting cleanup.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Absent from Wednesday's lineup
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Barnhart isn't starting Wednesday against the Guardians.
Barnhart started the last two games and went 4-for-7 with two RBI, a run and a walk. Eric Haase will take over behind the plate and bat sixth.
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Tigers' Tucker Barnhart: Starts again after big game
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Barnhart will start at catcher and bat eighth in Tuesday's game in Cleveland, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Barnhart will be rewarded with a second straight start after going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run in Monday's 7-5 win over the Guardians in the second game of a doubleheader. He had already seemed to push his way back into a timeshare at catcher with Eric Haase, and Barnhart's superior defense should continue to earn him a fair amount of playing time even if his bat cools off from here.
