Dodgers: Austin Barnes Recalled, Russell Martin Placed on Bereavement List
Ahead of play on Saturday, the Dodgers recalled catcher Austin Barnes from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed catcher Russell Martin on the bereavement list.
The Los Angeles #Dodgers announced that they have recalled catcher Austin Barnes from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed catcher Russell Martin on the bereavement list.
— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) August 24, 2019
Barnes has had a fairly successful run with OKC, batting .250 in 20 games while adding 6 home runs. He hit 5 of those homers in consecutive games. Prior to his demotion to AAA, he had a triple slash line of .196/.288/.328 with 5 home runs and 23 runs batted in over 70 games.
Russell Martin will miss 3 games at minimum, but no more than 7 during his stay on bereavement. He has struggled of late, going 0 for his last 17 to being his season average down to .207.
Update: Manager Dave Roberts provided some timelines and clarity on the situation.
Russ Martin’s grandmother died. He will return from the bereavement list Tuesday, Dave Roberts said. Austin Barnes, called up in his place, will catch Clayton Kershaw tomorrow.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) August 24, 2019
In the interim, Barnes will catch Clayton Kershaw on Sunday against the Yankees and Russell Martin will return on Tuesday. Condolences to Martin and his family.
Here is more from the official press release:
Barnes, 29, returns to the Dodgers after being optioned on July 25. In 70 games prior to the demotion, he batted .196 (40-for-204) with 10 doubles, five homers and 23 RBI with the Dodgers. He played in 20 games for Oklahoma City, batting .250 (19-for-76) with six homers and 16 RBI. In parts of five Major League seasons with the Dodgers, he has amassed 17 homers and 78 RBI with a .227 batting average.
[adace-ad id=”113312″]Martin, 36, has appeared in 69 games for the Dodgers, hitting .207 (36-for-174) with four homers and 15 RBI. On August 7, he delivered his 10th game-ending RBI with a two-run single in the ninth inning against the Cardinals. It was his first walk-off hit in a Dodger uniform since April 21, 2007 against Pittsburgh. The backstop has played in 1,679 games, recording 189 homers and 766 RBI in his 14-year Major League career.
This is a nice opportunity for Austin. Hope he does well!
Russell is not cutting it on the field, so his dog steps in front of the Dodger bus and he takes a bereavement leave. Cant argue with it. These magical injuries though to give guys rest is surely messing with the team chemistry and taking guys out of rhythm.
Ralph, last night Paxton had his best game of the year because the Dodgers played like the 2018 verson by striking out 15 times and making another LHP look like Cy Young.
good to see Austin hang in there and come back up….Sorry to say this is Martins swan song…maybe he can make it as a coach or relief pitcher…afterall his stats are better than any of our relievers….
Hey there! I believe I recall you posting from those good ole days on the Dodgers message boards. Many do concur, as I do that Martin’s next step is to be a coach somewhere in the Dodger’s system.
Why is dave Robert’s afraid to use the bullpen. He is costing the Dodgers games that he should be winning