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Clayton Kershaw pitched to Austin Barnes 86 times in the regular season dating back to 2015, developing a bond with the catcher/utility player.
Pitchers and catchers spend so much time with one another over the course of a grueling 162-game season that it’s natural for the parties to grow close.
That rapport is why it’s tough for pitchers to see their battery partners jettisoned, with Kershaw expressing his disappointment Thursday after the team designated Barnes for assignment to clear a path for top catching prospect Dalton Rushing.
“I think everybody was surprised,” Kershaw said before a 19-2 win over the A’s, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Yeah, it’s sad. Barnesy’s one of my best friends on or off the field. You won’t find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years. I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks.
“It’s sad to see someone like that go who’s been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it. It’s no disrespect to Dalton. I know he deserves it, and he’s going to be a great player. It’s just, for me personally, I think a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see him go.”
Barnes won two titles with the Dodgers during his 11 seasons, serving as both the backup and starter. He had been Will Smith’s No. 2 before the team moved on.
The 35-year-old has never been known for his bat, posting a career .660 OPS, but he played in 10 games during the team’s 2020 World Series championship run and had one NLCS at-bat in last year’s title stretch.
Barnes notched just 44 plate appearances this year before the Dodgers opted for upside, adding the No. 15 prospect in all of MLB, according to MLB.com.
The catcher had been the team’s second-longest player, per the Los Angeles Times, second to just Kershaw.
Their 86 regular-season games together marked the second-most for Kershaw and any catcher, trailing just A.J. Ellis’ 118 games, and they produced a 2.66 ERA together.
The Dodgers exercised in the offseason Barnes’ $3.5 million option for 2025, but that’s chump change for the free-spending franchise.
“This was certainly a tough conversation,” manager Dave Roberts said, per the outlet. “Austin is a Dodger for life. He helped us win the championship. Caught the last pitch in 2020, in the World Series, and he’s done a lot of great things in the community, for the Dodgers, for myself, personally.
“I just think that for us right now, with what Dalton Rushing is doing on the performance side, it’s an opportunity to challenge him, expand his growth, give him an opportunity to log some major league games and essentially give him some runway.”
As Kershaw laments his friend’s exit, he’s set to make his debut Saturday against the Angels after being sidelined due to knee and toe surgeries last year.
The Dodgers are tied with the Tigers for MLB’s best record with their 29-15 mark, but are dealing with a rash of pitching injuries.
Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are all sidelined, among others, while Shohei Ohtani is still working toward his Dodgers pitching debut in his second season.
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