Former Cubs Catcher Joins Diamondbacks on Minor League Deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms on a minor league contract with a former catcher of the Chicago Cubs.

Jack Vita | Jan 3, 2024

Former Cubs Catcher Joins Diamondbacks on Minor League Deal /

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Chicago Cubs

Two-time Gold Glove Award winner and former Chicago Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart has found a new home.

Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with Barnhart on a minor league contract for the 2024 Major League Baseball season.

Barnhart is owed $3.25 million by the Cubs in 2024.

Chicago inked the catcher to a two-year, $6.5 million contract last winter. He batted .202 with a .285 On Base Percentage, .541 OPS, one home run and nine RBI in 109 at bats and 43 games. He was designated for assignment on August 19.

Barnhart was effectively replaced by rookie Miguel Amaya in the middle of the season, while the Cubs saw exceptional production from their starting catcher Yan Gomes, who batted .462 in high leverage situations and .309 with men on base.

Amaya, 24, slashed .214/.329/.688 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 53 games during his first Major League season in 2023.

Barnhart's deal with the Diamondbacks reunites the veteran catcher with starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez. Barnhart caught Rodriguez in Detroit, when the two were teammates on the Tigers in 2022. Last month, the defending National League champions signed Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million contract.

Barnhart spent the first eight years of his Major League career with the Cincinnati Reds, where he slashed .248/.324/.696 and was celebrated for his defense and his ability to bring out the best in pitchers young and old.

Barnhart, entering his age 32 season, will have a chance to compete for a spot on Arizona's Opening Day roster at spring training, as a potential backup to Gabriel Moreno.

Published Jan 3, 2024

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.