José Barrero’s time in Baltimore is over. The Orioles removed the infielder/outfielder from their 40-man roster, and Barrero has chosen free agency, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com.
The move likely came through outright waivers, and Barrero was able to opt for free agency because he has been outrighted before. That gives him another chance to land somewhere else as he looks for minor league opportunities this winter.
Barrero barely saw the field for Baltimore this year, appearing in just two games. He picked up one hit in six at-bats, a single, then spent the rest of the season at Triple-A. There, he hit .202/.305/.400 with 23 home runs and 13 steals across 499 plate appearances.
At one point, Barrero looked like a player on the rise. He was ranked as high as No. 33 on Baseball America’s top-100 list going into the 2022 season, and the Reds gave him a $5MM signing bonus after signing him out of Cuba in 2017. He reached the majors with Cincinnati in 2020 and has now logged parts of six big league seasons without producing much at that level.
His minor league track record has been a mixed bag. Barrero mashed in 2021, posting a combined .303/.380/.539 line between Double-A and Triple-A.
He also had a productive Triple-A run in 2023, but the rest of his time at that level has been less convincing. Across 1777 Triple-A plate appearances, he owns a .227/.311/.438 line.
The journey has taken him from the Reds to the Rangers, then the Cardinals, and now the Orioles. In the majors, the numbers have been rough: a career .182/.238/.256 batting line with a 36.2% strikeout rate in 484 plate appearances.
Barrero has mostly played shortstop, but he’s also logged nearly 750 innings in center field, more than 500 at third base and more than 300 at second. He brings a strong arm, though his speed, once considered a plus, is now below average.
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