Barrera's contract was selected by the Cardinals on Saturday.
Barrera is a 28-year-old backstop with a career .231/.317/.315 slash line in 51 major-league games. The Cardinals didn't send down any catchers as part of the series of moves which accompanied Barrera's call-up, but with the team moving Willson Contreras out from behind the plate for at least the near future, Barrera may serve as Andrew Knizner's backup.
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Cardinals' Tres Barrera: On active roster at Memphis
Rotowire
Barrera (knee) is on the active roster at Triple-A Memphis ahead of their season opener Friday.
Barrera was sidelined due to knee soreness over the final week of the Grapefruit League schedule, but he's ready now to suit up for Memphis and could be a candidate for a quick call-up to St. Louis if Willson Contreras (knee) requires an IL stint. Ivan Herrera, also stationed at Memphis, is another option for fill-in duties. Andrew Knizner opened the year as the No. 2 catcher for the Cardinals.
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Cardinals' Tres Barrera: Battling knee soreness
Rotowire
Barrera won't play for the remained of the Grapefruit League schedule due to knee soreness, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Barrera had a chance to win the backup catcher job in spring training, but he went 2-for-13 with a double, a home run and two RBI over 12 spring games. Andrew Knizner appears set to open the season as the backup catcher, so there's a good chance Barrera is reassigned to Triple-A Memphis soon. He's on a minor-league and will serve as organizational depth at catcher.
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Cardinals' Tres Barrera: Chance to win backup job
Rotowire
Barrera has made a strong impression in spring camp, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has made it clear that the job behind starting backstop Willson Contreras is "wide open," and Barrera has a strong chance to win that position. The backstop signed on with St. Louis as a non-roster invitee and has posted just a .631 OPS so far over 162 plate appearances at the major-league level. Andrew Knizner is also battling for the backup gig. This appears to be a competition that could go down to the final days of spring training.
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Cardinals' Tres Barrera: Gets NRI from St. Louis
Rotowire
Barrera signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Friday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
The 28-year-old has seen big-league action in bits and pieces with the Nationals, collecting a .631 OPS in 162 plate appearances over three seasons. Barrera will likely to open 2023 at Triple-A Memphis.
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Tres Barrera: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Barrera rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester and elected free agency Friday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Barrera was removed from the Nationals' 40-man roster Thursday and will test free agency rather than report to Triple-A. The 28-year-old played in 19 big-league games last season and had a .180/.212/.200 slash line in 53 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Outrighted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Barrera cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Barrera served as a reserve catcher for Washington at times in 2022 and went 9-for-50 in 19 games. He won't stick on the 40-man roster through the offseason and is likely to open 2023 back at Triple-A.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Garners September call-up
Rotowire
The Nationals recalled Barrera from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
The addition of Barrera gives the Nationals a third catcher, which will perhaps allow the team to build in more rest days for No. 1 backstop Keibert Ruiz while allowing Riley Adams to pick up some work as a designated hitter. Barrera appeared in 14 games for Washington earlier in 2022, batting .182 with four RBI and two runs.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Call-up expected Thursday
Rotowire
Barrera is expected to be called up by the Phillies on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Barrera was sent to Triple-A Rochester last week, but he'll rejoin the major-league club to begin the month of September since active rosters will expand from 26 to 28 players. Over 14 big-league games this year, the 27-year-old has hit just .182 with a double, four RBI, two runs, two walks and 11 strikeouts.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Barrera was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Monday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Barrera has served as the Nationals' backup catcher since early July, but he posted a paltry .441 OPS in 35 plate appearances over 14 games, so the team decided to send him back to Triple-A for the time being. It remains to be seen who will replace Barrera on Washington's roster, but Riley Adams is the most likely option.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Two-RBI performance
Rotowire
Barrera went 1-for-2 with two RBI in Saturday's loss to Miami.
His two RBI came on a single in the second inning that saw Nelson Cruz and Lane Thomas cross the plate before Barrera advanced to second base on a throwing error -- the Marlins' third error of the inning. It was the catcher's first appearance this season, but it should give him confidence going forward after picking up a hit and two RBI. Barrera is the new backup behind Keibert Ruiz after Riley Adams was demoted.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Called up Friday
Rotowire
Barrera was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Barrera will join the big league roster ahead of Friday's series opener versus the Marlins. He'll be set to make his season debut for the Nationals after he has posted a .256 batting average with seven homers, 24 RBI and 25 runs over 164 at-bats in 51 games with Rochester this year. Riley Adams was sent down to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Heads back to minors
Rotowire
The Nationals optioned Barrera to Triple-A Rochester on Monday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Barrera's demotion sets the stage for top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz to join the Nationals' 26-man roster ahead of Monday's series opener with the Phillies. Ruiz's arrival will leave fewer opportunities to go around for Riley Adams, who had been handling the larger portion of a timeshare behind the plate with Barrera. Over 107 plate appearances with the big club this season, Barrera has hit .264 with two home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Barrera isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Barrera will be out of the lineup for a third consecutive game as he continues to work in a timeshare at catcher. Riley Adams will remain behind the dish and bat eighth.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Sits Tuesday
Rotowire
Barrera is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Barrera will be on the bench for the second straight game, but since he caught each of the previous three contests before that, he at least appears to be in a timeshare behind the dish with Riley Adams. Since rejoining Washington in late July, Barrera has gone 6-for-34 (.176 average) with three RBI and a run in 11 games.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Gets breather
Rotowire
Barrera is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.
Barrera caught each of the Nationals' previous three games, so he'll just be getting a breather for the series finale. The 26-year-old's recent workload would suggest he's viewed as the team's No. 1 backstop ahead of Riley Adams, who will catch for starting pitcher Paolo Espino on Sunday.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Resting for Game 1 of twin bill
Rotowire
Barrera is out of the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Mets.
Barrera will be on the bench for the front end of the twin bill while Riley Adams catches for Washington, but the 26-year-old should start behind the plate for the second game. While the Nationals wait for veteran Alex Avila (calf) to come off the injured list, Barrera and Adams are likely to remain locked into a timeshare at catcher.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Takes seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Barrera is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
After working behind the plate in both of the Nationals' last two games, Barrera will give way to Riley Adams, who was one of two catcher prospects Washington acquired prior to last week's trade deadline. Expect manager Dave Martinez to distribute the starts between Barrera and Adams relatively equitably, unless one of the two performs dramatically better than the other.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Moves to minors
Rotowire
The Nationals optioned Barrera to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.
Barrera's demotion comes after the Nationals had their game Wednesday against the Phillies postponed due to 12 positive COVID-19 cases within the Washington organization. Since Barrera is being optioned rather than placed on the COVID-19 injured list, he seemingly isn't one of the four players who has reportedly tested positive for the virus. Instead, the Nationals' decision to send Barrera back to the minors could signal that one of the team's two injured catchers -- Yan Gomes (oblique) and Alex Avila (calf) -- may be ready to return from the IL when Washington and Philadelphia return to action Thursday with a doubleheader. Barrera had been serving as Washington's No. 1 backstop since the All-Star break, slashing .323/.382/.484 through 10 second-half games.
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Nationals' Tres Barrera: Gets Sunday off
Rotowire
Barrera is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Barrera gets a much-needed day off after he went 7-for-23 with three extra-base hits (one home run, two doubles) while catching in each of the Nationals' last six games. Rene Rivera will replace him behind the dish Sunday, but Barrera should continue to see the bulk of the starts at the position until one of Yan Gomes (oblique) or Alex Avila (calf) returns from the injured list.
