Detroit Tigers going to rely heavily on Tucker Barnhart’s skill this season

The Detroit Tigers made a move earlier this offseason to bring in catcher Tucker Barnhart after a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. Barnhart was immediately informed that the Tigers would pick up his $7.5 million option for the 2022 season.

This year he’s going to be sticking with the Detroit Tigers and may be someone worth giving an extension to, depending on how this season works out. His abilities in the batters’ box are going to trump that of Grayson Greiner easily.

While Eric Haase may be able to put out a better offensive output, Barnhart is going to provide defensive upside that benefits the organization. The days where the Tigers had Alex Avila handling the pitching staff was perfect given how much the staff enjoyed Avila behind the dish.

Barnhart has the ability to gain the trust of his staff and handle them well. This skill is going to translate to success with the staff being able to settle in with Barnhart being the one behind the dish.

Barnhart has taken home two Gold Glove awards in his eight-year big league career. He’s been comfortable behind the dish and has some of the intangible skills that are going to shine for the Tigers. He did catch Wade Miley’s no-hitter this past summer, so it’s hard not to respect his game management abilities.

Detroit Tigers catcher Tucker Barnhart is going to bring plenty of value.

The Detroit Tigers went out and got themselves a real dude. Barnhart is going to bring more than just some veteran experience to the organization. Being able to have him for next year and possibly into the future is a rewarding thing for the Tigers organization.

Barnhart’s defensive tools are not bad either. He’s got the ability to throw out runners and can make sound plays defensively. He’s got the makings of a good catcher; it’s hard not to think the Tigers are feeling quite lucky with the deal they were able to work out.

It helped them fill a need that needed to be addressed this offseason without having to sift through the free-agent market. It was a great move from the Tigers, and they should be expecting a quality performance in 2022.

Barnhart is coming off a 2021 season where he played in 116 games and produced a .247/.317/.368 for the Reds. Now the Tigers are going to expect a similar output, and he should be more than able to do so.

The Tigers are building in the right direction, and bringing in a catcher like Barnhart is going to help them as they get through more of this rebuild.