The Dodgers avoided arbitration with the catcher Austin Barnes when agreeing to a $ 4.3 million two-year deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). The contract is divided into a signing bonus of $ 300,000, $ 1.5 million in 2021, $ 2.5 million in 2022 and another $ 400,000 in potential incentives based on the games played.
Barnes was looking for a $ 2 million salary for the 2021 season and the Dodgers counterattacked for $ 1.5 million, but the new deal avoids a hearing and blocks Barnes for the remaining two years of arbitration. The Seeker is still scheduled to reach the free agency after the 2022 season.
MLBTR’s Matt Swartz Barnes projected to earn between $ 1.3 million and $ 1.7 million through the arbitration process, so the Seeker will overcome that projection (counting the salary and signing bonus) and also deposit some extra financial security for 2022 in the process. The Barnes deal closes the Dodgers’ arbitration deals in the winter, and is the second multi-year contract that LA closes this week to avoid an arbitration hearing, after reaching a $ 8 million two-year pact with Walker Buehler.
Originally a ninth-round pick for the Marlins in the 2011 draft, Barnes came to Los Angeles as part of a memorable seven-player exchange in December 2014. Although not considered an elite prospect at the time, Barnes did well on the farm of the Dodgers system and seemed to emerge as a candidate for the Seeker of the future when it hit .289 / .408 / .486 in 262 PA in 2017. His baton has not been as potent since, however, and Barnes has established himself in a role of backup from behind Will Smith.
With another attractive prospect highly praised in Keibert Ruiz at the height of regular playing time, it remains to be seen whether Barnes will be part of the Dodgers’ long-term plans. His two-year deal could now make him a kind of commercial chip, or the Dodgers may prefer to move Ruiz to achieve a higher-level commercial target. That said, Los Angeles may also end up keeping all of its catchers as part of the team’s philosophy of accumulating as much depth as possible – the addition of universal DH would help in that regard, as more attackers would be accessible.
The Barnes business has an average annual value of $ 2.15 million, increasing the Dodgers’ ever-increasing tax account. The club now has a projected tax number of more than $ 257.5 million (according to the Roster Resource), in addition to the highest penalty level of $ 250 million. The Dodgers are facing a tax bill of more than $ 15 million and, to pass the $ 250 million mark, a 10 position drop in the draft order for their highest choice in the 2021 draft. It has been speculated that LA could negotiate a contract to at least lower itself below the $ 250 million limit, but since the Dodgers are being taxed at the “first time” rate, they seem comfortable with making this one-year boast to reload for another World Series title.