Dodgers Opinion: Austin Barnes’ DFA was Just the First of Multiple Tough Decisions Awaiting the Team
LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Dodgers shocked their fanbase on Wednesday with the surprise promotion of top prospect Dalton Rushing, which led to the DFA of long-time veteran catcher Austin Barnes.
However, Barnes’s sudden release is just the beginning of a slew of tough roster choices that the Dodgers will have to make over the next several weeks.
The dismissal of Barnes was a long-overdue decision. From a production standpoint, the veteran backstop was a below-league-average hitter with a combined .215/.297/.308 slash line and a .605 OPS since the 2022 season. Multiple defensive metrics also took a dip, such as ranking in the second percentile in Caught Stealing Above Average and the first percentile in Pop Time.
Rushing, 24, brings a new young look to the Dodgers’ catching core and a left-handed hitting option off the bench on the day that the top prospect does not start.
The Dodgers are in a pickle about what to do when they activate utilityman Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández off the 10-day injured list, which is expected to happen after this weekend.
The Dodgers will have to clear two spots on their 26-man roster once Edman and Hernández are activated.
The first player to bite the roster crunch bullet will likely be outfielder James Outman, who has hit a measly .059/.158/.235 with a 12 wRC+ and an alarming 57.9% K% since his callup. Still, when the Dodgers inevitably option James Outman back to Triple-A OKC, they’ll need to clear one more roster spot, which will be a different can of worms entirely.
The Dodgers’ easy decision would be to option newly signed Korean utilityman Hyeseong Kim back to Triple-A OKC, as the 26-year-old still has minor league options remaining. However, Kim has proven his value in his short time.
In his short stint at the Major League level, Kim has a .360/.360/.480 slash line, a 137 wRC+, a .840 OPS, two stolen bases, and a .421 BABIP. He has been a breath of fresh air for the bottom third of the Dodgers’ lineup, which has struggled this season.
Kim provides the Dodgers with something they’ve lacked in recent years: speed. So far, Kim has showcased his elite sprint speed, ranking in the 88th percentile and going crazy on the Atlanta Braves during his Major League debut.
Yesterday, Kim showcased his power at the plate, slugging his first home run of his Major League career, tying the game against the Athletics. One of the most significant concerns for Kim during spring training was how the KBO star would adjust to Major League pitching, and so far, he has done well.
Kim has only a 20% strikeout rate this season compared to a 24.4% rate in Triple-A. While he’s not hitting the fastball entirely well, with a .222 batting average, he has held his own against Major League pitchers so far.
If the Dodgers opt to keep Kim at the Major League level after his impressive play, they will likely have to choose between long-time position player Chris Taylor and veteran utility infielder Miguel Rojas.
The Dodgers have done their best to hide Chris Taylor this season, only giving him thirty-two plate appearances. In that short sample size, he has only hit .219/.219/.281 with a 36 wRC+ while punching out in nearly half of his at-bats with a 40.6% K% this season.
On the other side of the coin is veteran Miguel Rojas, who is hitting better than Taylor with a .261 batting average but still only has an 81 wRC+ and a sub .700 OPS. Rojas, who has been known more as a defensive first player throughout his career, has also seen a massive dip in performance, ranking in the 21st percentile in OAA and 31st percentile in Fielding Run Value.
Like Barnes, the Dodgers decided to exercise their $4 million club option on Rojas, so if the team decided to DFA him, they’d be required to pay him the remaining salary for this season.
For Taylor, it does get a bit more complicated. The former All-Star is set to earn $13 million this season, and if he’d been traded before the 2026 season, he’d earn an additional $3 million based on a clause in his contract.
The Dodgers could always place either player on the injured list, as Dodgers insider David Vassegh stated on Dodger Talk this past week with Taylor, who’s had a leg/knee injury the last two seasons.
An honorable mention is outfielder Michael Conforto, who signed with the Dodgers to a one-year, $17 million contract over the winter and has hit just a combined .175/.302/.286 this season but has started to heat up, hitting .500 with seven hits since May 10th.
Regardless, the Dodgers know their situation. As Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated last night, “Yeah, once Tommy and Teo come back, there’s some decisions to be made.”
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