The week after adjusting their roster to protect prospects and define their depth, the Cardinals continued that annual addition of minor league deals to fill organizational openings with the signing of a rival's former top prospect.
The Cardinals formally announced a minor league agreement with infielder Jose Barrero on Monday afternoon, a week or so after reaching a deal with the shortstop who was Cincinnati's No. 1 prospect entering the 2022 season. He was their opening day shortstop in 2023.
Viewed as a slick fielder, Barrero's offense hasn't kept pace, and the Reds moved him off the roster when peers surpassed him.
Barrero, now 26, played 139 games for the Reds in the majors and has a .186/.242/.255 slash line through four different seasons. In 2023, he began the year as the Reds' starting shortstop, and through 46 games that year, he had his best stretch of production, with a .218 average, a .295 on-base percentage and a .619 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) through 149 plate appearances.
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In around 600 innings at shortstop from 2022-23 in the majors, Barrero registered a minus-7 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Barrero was one of the Reds' high-dollar signings from the international free-agent marketplace within the past decade. They outbid other teams with a $5 million offer, and within a few years, Barrero stood out within Cincinnati's organization for his potential. He represented the Reds in the 2021 Futures Game. Baseball America ranked him the No. 33rd prospect in all of the minors entering the 2022 season, and BA also had him No. 1 within the Reds organization.
That put him ahead of No. 2 Hunter Greene, No. 3 Nick Lodolo and No. 4 Elly De La Cruz. In a projection of the Reds' 2025 lineup, Baseball America had Barrero at shortstop and electrifying talent De La Cruz at third base.
This past March, the Reds placed Barrero on waivers, and the Rangers picked him up. He played 49 games at Class AAA Round Rock and hit .188/.277/.345 for a .622 OPS. His season was abbreviated by an injury that ultimately put him on the 60-day injured list. He did not play after an on-field collision, and journalist Francys Romero reported that Barrero had to have his spleen removed as a result of the collision.
This month, Barrero had the right to choose minor league free agency and did.
Now healthy, Barrero has been playing in the Dominican Republic's winter league. For Estrellas and its manager Fernando Tatis Sr., Barrero hit .238 with a .360 on-base percentage and a .492 slugging percentage through his first 21 games and 71 plate appearances.
So far this offseason, the Cardinals have acquired depth at two spots they and many other clubs usually go shopping for this time of year: pitching and middle infield. The Cardinals claimed right-hander Roddery Munoz off waivers from Miami, and they signed right-hander Michael Gomez to a minor league deal.
Gomez and Barrero both received invites to major league spring training as part of their new contracts.
Minor league deals mean the player is not on the 40-player roster.
This past week, the Cardinals did not present a contract to right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, allowing him to become a free agent. The Cardinals presented contracts to every other member of the 40-player roster who was not already signed for the 2025 season. They have two openings on the 40-player roster. The Cardinals opted to keep infielder Jose Fermin as depth at multiple positions, and Barrero adds a challenger for that same role with the possibility of backing up at shortstop.
Barrero also gives the Cardinals a shortstop at Class AAA Memphis as prospect Thomas Saggese makes his bid for the big league club.
With the exception of the Los Angeles Angels and their beat-the-rush signings of a few free agents, the hot stove has yet to warm this winter. A lot of attention has been on the courtship of Juan Soto. Throughout Major League Baseball, the expectation is that activity will accelerate into a flurry around the annual winter meetings, which are set to start Dec. 9 in Dallas.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told the Post-Dispatch recently that the "pace" of his conversations with other teams and free agents are pointing toward activity at the winter meetings.Â
