Jose Barrero is considered the Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop of the future, but he’s been used as a utility player since he was promoted to the Majors last week.
Barrero has started one game at shortstop and one game at second base. Sunday was his first start as a second baseman since he was playing with the Low-A Dayton Dragons in 2018.
“He did a lot of work and got playing time at second base in Triple-A, definitely trust the reports there,” Reds manager David Bell said. “I know Farm can move around too, but at this point he's been playing shortstop for us very consistently and playing it extremely well. To me, it's nice to be able to put Barrero at second base and feel good about it, even though he's played a majority of shortstop in his career.”
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Barrero hit his way to the Majors, so it’s important to keep his bat in the lineup. In 40 games at Triple-A Louisville, he had a .305 batting average with 10 doubles, 11 homers and 34 RBI.
He could receive some playing time over the final six weeks of the season in the outfield, too. He’s spent time before games with outfield coach Jeff Pickler to prepare for the possibility of playing center field, something he’s embraced.
When Barrero was asked about how ready he felt to play in a game in center field, he immediately responded, “100%.” He did a few outfield drills with coaches in Louisville, though he never appeared in a game there. Barrero is an exceptional defensive shortstop, but teams always want to increase a player’s versatility.
“I’m here to play wherever the team needs me to play, support them and help them in any way I can,” said Barrero, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos, noting teammates give him tips on how to play the outfield.
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There are times when it can be counterintuitive to promote prospects to the Majors because they aren’t receiving regular at-bats. Barrero was the primary starting shortstop when he was called up last year in the shortened season, jumping from High-A to the Majors.
“In Jose’s case, that’s been a consideration for the last two years,” Bell said. “We pushed it last year. To Jose’s credit, he came out this year and turned it into a positive and had a great year at Double-A and Triple-A. At this point, it was easier to bring him up, not knowing for sure exactly how much playing time he was going to get just because he basically had a full year in. He’s had a great year of development. He’s ready to help us win.
“We’ll see where that goes, but I think we can let his performance and the team situation dictate it for now and feel good about his development.”
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INDIA SITS: Jonathan India was out of the lineup Sunday, essentially giving him back-to-back days for a breather with Monday’s off day.
He’s failed to reach base in six of his last 11 starts with 14 strikeouts in 47 at-bats, which is only noticeable because of how well he’s played for the past three months.
“He is not injured,” Bell said. “He's playing great. It's just simply staying ahead of it. Who knows? Maybe this is the last one. It was an opportunity to get him two days off. Make sure we stay ahead of any bumps and bruises, fatigue and all that.”
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STREAK ENDS: Tucker Barnhart’s 161-game errorless streak, the longest in franchise history by a catcher, ended Friday when he was called for catcher’s interference on a swing by Jesús Aguilar.
“For it to come to an end like that kind of stinks,” Barnhart said. “If it was going to an end, I’d rather rifle one into left field down the line or into center field or something like that where I did something wrong. I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
Tyler Stephenson now leads the league in fielding percentage with zero errors in 448 1/3 innings, entering Sunday.
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In the batter’s box, Barnhart and Stephenson lead the Majors in hits (132) and doubles (33) as a catcher’s tandem. They’re second in batting average and on-base percentage behind the San Francisco Giants and third in MLB in slugging percentage.
“I don’t think it gets talked about enough,” Bell said. “Our situation with Tucker and Tyler has become a huge strength on our team. What’s fun about it is how hard they’ve worked, how they’ve pushed each other, how they’ve supported each other.”
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