The Tigers Kickoff the Offseason By Trading For Catcher Tucker Barnhart

Yeah, I can live with this. There's a fine line here. If you're jumping up and down, then I can't help you. It's not what the fans want, but considering the circumstances, it fills a void. Tucker Barnhart's played his entire career at Cincinnati. He's not going to set the world on fire with his bat, but he's known for being an excellent defensive catcher, with two Gold Gloves to show for it. The Tigers also didn't do anything stupid in regards to who they traded away. Nick Quintana has been a legitimate disaster since the Tigers drafted him in the second round. I could spend this time complaining about the fact that a second-round pick has been this underwhelming, but I'm trying to focus on the positive, and that's what I'm going to do. 

The loss of Jake Rogers hurt. It seemed like the Tigers were content (and rightfully so) with having Eric Haase and Jake Rogers platoon next season. Those plans went to the wayside when Jake Rogers required Tommy John surgery. He will miss all of the 2022 season. A move like this is one that Al Avila had to make. This trade's failure/success rate will depend not so much on Tucker Barnhart but Eric Haase. Tucker Barnhart will be a backup catcher most likely, and I think he'll be a very serviceable one. Eric Haase, assuming there's not some injury, will be the Opening Day catcher, and as fun as it was watching him ascend last year and come out of nowhere, we are talking about a guy who had a .538 OPS over the last two months of the season. The Tigers should be pretty set at the catching position if he can put up league average numbers or even below league average numbers offensively next year. A player like Barnhart is a nice little piece, but the biggest prizes remain.