LOS ANGELES, CA — The Dodger position players are next on my list of Dodger Latinos in 2024. Following pitchers, the next logical position is the catcher. The Dodgers have one of the best in the business for defense and calling a game. That is the always-colorful thirty-four-year-old Austin Barnes. A southern California native with family roots in Mexico, Barnes has become future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s personal receiver since he joined the Club in a trade with the Marlins in 2015.
He originally signed with Miami out of Arizona State in 2011. At Arizona, he earned First-Team All-Pac-10 honors following his junior season. He is known as a “Defensive catcher with strong pitch-framing skills.” He knows how to handle the Dodgers’ pitching staff and guide its pitchers through games, something that goes unnoticed by the average fan. It has made him one of the best game-callers in baseball.
He was a part of the L.A. organization that won the National League pennant in 2017 and 2018, where he had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, never committing an error that season. He played a big part in their 2020 World Series Championship and won the MLB “Fielding Bible Award” for catcher in 2020 as the best defensive player at that position. Off the field, his charitable work includes involvement with the Dodgers Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles.
Barnes jumped at the opportunity to play for Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he helped guide them to an upset win over Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals that put Mexico into the semi-finals, where they would lose to eventual champion Japan in a walk-off thriller.
Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes touches first base following an infield hit during the 2023 regular season – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
Barnes will earn $3,500,000 this season, with the Dodgers having an option to resign him in 2025 for the same amount. He is an unrestricted free agent in 2026. Hopefully, they can all agree on something that will keep this valuable part of this winning organization for a few more years.
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