Cincinnati Reds deal Tucker Barnhart, and the offseason speculation begins

Just hours after we woke up from the end of the 2021 Major League Baseball finale and the victory of the Atlanta Braves over the Houston Astros in the World Series, the Cincinnati Reds were back in the news.

With the first big domino of the offseason, the Reds flipped catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers for infield prospect Nick Quintana, a deal that on the surface seemed to be somewhat OK. It freed up a full-time job (as catchers go) for Tyler Stephenson, who deserves it. It signaled the Reds weren’t going to pay a pile of money for a backup catcher if Stephenson was set to be their go-to guy.

Still, the timing of it and the Tigers decision to pick up Barnhart’s $7.5 million salary for 2022 suggested there could have, or should have, been a lot more to this deal. Was it yet another example of the Reds just giving away a player rather than paying him what he was worth on the open market?

BK joined me do break the move down in a vacuum on the latest episode of the Bleav in Reds podcast, as well as to process what it could mean for the very, very similar decisions the Reds will have to make in short order this offseason, too. You can smash that play button below to catch the latest, or follow this link to hear it in your own way.