beckdawg
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1:54pm: The Cubs will receive a player to be named later in exchange for Barney, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link).
1:36pm: The Dodgers have acquired second baseman Darwin Barney from the Cubs, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was the first to report that the two sides were close to a deal. (on Twitter). Barney was designated for assignment last week, though Cotillo noted earlier today that the defensive specialist was garnering trade interest.
Darwin Barney
The 28-year-old Barney hit just .230/.265/.328 in 217 plate appearances with the Cubs this season, but his bat has never been his calling card. Barney consistently rates as one of the best defensive second baseman in the Major Leagues, and this year was no different. His Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games was +15.5, while Defensive Runs Saved pegged him at +7 runs in limited time. Per DRS, Barney has saved 46 runs over the past three seasons.
Dee Gordon has established himself as Los Angeles’ everyday second baseman this season, so it doesn’t seem likely that Barney will be seeing everyday at-bats with the Dodgers. However, his glove makes him a nice bench piece that the team can use to improve its defense late in games. Barney was drafted as a shortstop and spent more time at short than at the keystone in his minor league career. Despite a lack of experience at the position in recent years, Barney could be used as a replacement if the team wants to either replace the defensively challenged Hanley Ramirez or shift him over to third base late in games.
Barney is earning just $2.3MM this season and is controllable through 2016 as an arbitration eligible player. His bat makes him a non-tender candidate in the offseason, but he will only cost the Dodgers about $804K from here through season’s end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Least they got something for him.