Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Tucker Barnhart

The veteran backstop took a step back in 2024, but made an impact behind the scenes.

May 7, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Tucker Barnhart (16) high fives teammates after scoring on a RBI single hit by outfielder Corbin Carroll (not pictured) in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players that appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players that still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

C Tucker Barnhart

2024 Contract Status: $740,000 From Diamondbacks, $2,510,000 from Cubs.

Tucker Barnhart joined the Diamondbacks for spring training of 2024. Previously released by the Chicago Cubs, who still owed him money for 2024, the D-backs signed him to a league minimum deal, where he earned the backup catcher position out of spring training.

Barnhart has always been praised for his defense and his all-around classiness. His veteran presence made an impact, and even though he made only 96 plate appearances in 31 games, Barnhart sat in on countless meetings and individually worked with every pitcher on the staff.

With the Diamondbacks, the 33-year-old Barnhart hit .173 with a .287 OBP. The later of these numbers was aided strongly by a 13.5% walk rate, but a 32.3% K rate kept his bat largely unplayable.

At the end of his D-backs tenure he had acrued -0.4 WAR, and only held a 49 wRc+. His defense which was so heralded coming into 2024 also seemed to enter a decline, with only his pop time still ranking very highly at 2.00 seconds.

Barnhart's blocking declined to -1 blocks above average, and his framing ranked in at a terrible -2 framing runs. In 2023 the veteran catcher collected 3 framing runs above average, showing a dropoff of 5 runs in the volatile, yet important statistic.

Barnhart's time in Arizona ended during Gabriel Moreno's first stint on the injured list. With Moreno out, the team opted to call up Jose Herrera, another experienced backstop who played a role in the Diamondbacks' run to the 2023 World Series.

After Moreno's return from the IL, the D-backs opted to keep Herrera in the big leagues and cut ties with Barnhart instead. They would go on to release him, leaving him open to signing with any other club that would have him.

Even after a dissapointing season in Arizona, Barnhart will be remembered fondly. The mark he left on the pitching staff, and in the clubhouse was a positive one, and his on base skills seemed to always come at the right moments. While statistics paint a negative picture, Barnhart won't be viewed in that same light years down the line.

2025 Outlook

2025 Contract Status: Free Agent

Tucker Barnhart signed a minor league contract with his original team, in the Cincinnati Reds after his departure from Arizona. He stayed in their minor league system until the conclusion of the 2024 season.

At this time it is unclear if he will come back to the Reds, but a return to the Diamondbacks seems unlikely.

Arizona is set at starting catcher role with Gabriel Moreno manning home plate for the foreseeable future. Jose Herrera was already chosen above Barnhart, and the team only seemed to grow in confidence in rookie backstop Adrian Del Castillo as the season carried on.

Barnhart likely won't come back to the Diamondbacks, but not for a sour reason.