Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Prior to their game with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, Dodger manager Dave Roberts disclosed that Austin Barnes has had to go on emergency family leave, and will be away from the ballclub for several days.
Not clear at this point what the exact nature of the emergency is, but we are sending all of our DodgersBeat prayers and good vibes his way.
In his place on the roster, the Dodgers have called up veteran backstop Tony Wolters. Wolters signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers last August after getting released from the Cubs organization.
He appeared in just 14 games for Chicago in 2021 before he was released. Wolters made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies and appeared in 391 games with the team from 2016-2020. A career .236 hitter at the big league level, Wolters will join the team in Kansas City for the weekend series.
Tony Wolters has always been sort of a “break glass in case of emergency” signing for the club, as Barnes and Will Smith are pretty much cemented in at the catcher’s spot for this year. The Dodgers’ top prospect, Diego Cartaya, is still a little bit away from being big-league ready, so I’m not surprised that the team went with Wolters instead.
As for the impact on the ballclub, it looks to be minimal. With Clayton Kershaw out, Barnes didn’t figure to get a whole lot of starts in the next week or so. So far this year, he’s hitting .171 in a little over 100 at-bats. Hopefully, whatever Barnsey is dealing with will come to a happy conclusion, and we can see the “captain” as Mookie Betts calls him back on the field soon.
