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On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced their decision to designate for assignment stalwarts Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes. Barnes arrived in LA in 2015 and was the longest-tenured player on the roster, while Taylor joined the following season.
Shortly after the DFA announcement was made, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman opened up on how the decision, although difficult, was one that had to be made at this point.
Friedman's statement was posted to X (formerly Twitter) by insider Jack Harris.
"This has been a very emotional week for all of us. Barnsey (Austin Barnes) and CT (Chris Taylor) have been in the middle of some huge moments for this organization. Both guys have left an indelible mark on our culture and where we're at this point. So the decisions [to DFA them] were incredible difficult." Andrew Friedman said
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"The conversations were tough. But with where we are, the division race, the composition of roster, everything. We felt like this was in the Dodgers' best interest in terms of how to win as many games and put us in a position to best win the World Series this year. Doesn't mean that it was easy. But ultimately felt like the right thing to do." Friedman added.
Both players won two World Series titles during their time with the Dodgers. However, playing time for the duo has been very hard to come by. As a result, the once-influential pair has transitioned into roles as squad-rotation players.
Both Taylor and Barnes are batting in the .200s, with no homers and two RBIs this season.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts reflects on 'tough' decision of DFA'ing Austin Barnes
Shortly after the Dodgers announced their decision to designate catcher Austin Barnes for assignment, skipper Dave Roberts had his say on parting ways with the team's longest tenured player.
“This was certainly a tough conversation. 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." Dave Roberts said, speaking to the press on Wednesay, May 14 [0:24]
"Austin Barnes is a guy that's far beyond the numbers. He's a glue guy. He held guys accountable. He was tough. I mean, he had a very innate ability to get big hits, and he was respected across the board. And so when you lose a presence like that, there's always kind of, pause, I guess." Roberts added.
Barnes spent 11 seasons with the Dodgers after arriving via trade in December 2014. He played in 612 games, hitting .223 with 35 home runs and 162 RBIs.
