Jose Barrero Called Up

[Kc61]

It’s getting to be “poo or exit the lavatory” time with him. No reason not to let him have an extended look.

I don’t see why it’s now or never for Jose. He was trumpeted as a major talent, now suddenly he’s on his last legs as a prospect?

I’d do whatever will help his hitting development. If the Reds think that’s the big leagues, fine, maybe he’s now healthy and ready to go. Reds have more prospects now, but that doesn’t make Jose less valuable if he has the goods.

[Danny Serafini]

Barrero's last 10 games:

.268 BA
.333 OBP
.537 SLG
.870 OPS

The strikeouts are still bad, but enough stuff is trending in the right direction that he may be snapping out of this funk and ready for another trip to Cincinnati.

[TRF]

Alcantara is a tough draw.

That said he'll prolly go 2-4 with 2 K's and a hustle double.

[Alpha Zero]

Barrero’s plate discipline was a major problem last time we saw him in MLB action. I would play him regularly over the next couple of months to see if his command of the strike zone appears improved with consistent game action. If he can put bat to ball and reduce the number of chase attempts, he has proven that all of the other tools are there. If he can’t tame those issues, then nothing else matters all that much. It’s time to see what he’s got. He’s 24 and I don’t think letting him marinate longer in AAA is productive at this point.

[Kc61]

Many seem to think Jose’s promotion to the bigs is a test.

I’d rather not test him now. I’d rather keep developing him this season.

In any event, the decision is made, I wish Barrero good luck.

[Assembly Hall]

Give 'em Hell Jose!

[RedsManRick]

I could not care less how well he has hit in AAA this year. Farmer isn't the future. Barrero might be. It's time to start finding out or he's going to run out of time to show it one way or the other before other org SS's are nipping at his heels.

He's no spring chicken any more. He's 24. If he needs a lot more development time, then he's probably never going to be the answer anyway. If he needs just a little more time, I doubt it makes too much difference either way. And if he's actually ready, then let him show it in the biggest possible sample now so Krall can send Farmer on his way this offseason.

[Benihana]

Barrero and Steer need to start every game on the left side of the infield for the remainder of the season. Let's see what we have.

I'm still hopeful on Jose.

[TheBigLebowski]

I don’t see why it’s now or never for Jose. He was trumpeted as a major talent, now suddenly he’s on his last legs as a prospect?

I’d do whatever will help his hitting development. If the Reds think that’s the big leagues, fine, maybe he’s now healthy and ready to go. Reds have more prospects now, but that doesn’t make Jose less valuable if he has the goods.

Because he’s been at a standstill for almost 2 years. Because the Reds now have more talented SS’s in the system than the fans have woooooo-birds. No, the sudden glut of SS’s doesn’t change what Barrero is, but with all these options, waiting and waiting for him to develop into a good major leaguer becomes less of an imperative for this org.

[TRF]

Because he’s been at a standstill for almost 2 years. Because the Reds now have more talented SS’s in the system than the fans have woooooo-birds. No, the sudden glut of SS’s doesn’t change what Barrero is, but with all these options, waiting and waiting for him to develop into a good major leaguer becomes less of an imperative for this org.

How has he been at a standstill? He raked in 2021, was the presumed starter for the Reds this year and then had the hamate surgery.

He didn't stall, he got hurt. And the Reds need to know if he's the guy or next man up.

[TheBigLebowski]

How has he been at a standstill? He raked in 2021, was the presumed starter for the Reds this year and then had the hamate surgery.

He didn't stall, he got hurt. And the Reds need to know if he's the guy or next man up.

He did rake in the minors in 2021. Got what, 30 games in at the ML level that year and didn’t look great, but that wasn’t much of a sample. Still, he didn’t look great.

And being hurt often ends up stalling a career for a young guy, even though it’s not exactly fair. But he lost an important season - at least most of it.

As to the last part of your post, I fully and completely agree and have never even hinted otherwise. This thread took a weird sidetrack when one of the first responses was an admonition of me for wanting to get him up to the bigs asap.

[mth123]

The games don’t matter and he’ll get plenty of swings to build up that confidence.

Or we could just keep waiting until he says he’s happy and ready and everything is perfect.

Or we wait until he gets past the hamate bone issue and whatever bad habits he developed due to it, which we can clearly see based on his results in AAA. Struggling to OPS .600 in AAA? We may as well bring you up to the big leagues where big league pitchers can really mess you up while you are trying to figure it out.

Not really a fan of the fail your way to the big leagues model.

[TheBigLebowski]

Alcantara is a tough draw.

That said he'll prolly go 2-4 with 2 K's and a hustle double.

It is, but he got knocked around a bit his last start. He’s thrown a lot of innings. Maybe a little fatigued? Who knows - excited to watch the game, though.

[Chip R]

Alcantara is a tough draw.

That said he'll prolly go 2-4 with 2 K's and a hustle double.

That's probably a big reason Farmer is sitting. He's very mortal against RH pitching and this guy's one of the best. Tough draw for Barrero if not the rest of the team. If Barrero's not going to start every day, I don't know why he's up here. I get the feeling Farmer is one of those players who is popular with the other players and the media as well as fans. He's exceeded expectations. I'm down with him playing 3rd and Barrero at SS. But I could also see the Reds keeping Farmer at SS and giving him a multi-year deal of 2-3 years and moving Barrero to CF or LF if they are high on De La Cruz and think he'll be ready in 2025. Benching Farmer could get a lot of people upset.

[Kc61]

Because he’s been at a standstill for almost 2 years. Because the Reds now have more talented SS’s in the system than the fans have woooooo-birds. No, the sudden glut of SS’s doesn’t change what Barrero is, but with all these options, waiting and waiting for him to develop into a good major leaguer becomes less of an imperative for this org.

I dont’ know what standstill you mean. Jose played AAA last year, got promoted, then in 2022 got injured and hasn’t hit since his return. That’s what happens with developing players sometimes. Not a reason to promote him if he’s not making contact at the plate.