The Los Angeles Dodgers made two major roster moves on Wednesday that are directly related. Longtime catcher Austin Barnes has been designated for assignment and the team has called up 24-year old prospect Dalton Rushing to take his place.
Barnes has backed up Will Smith this season and appeared in 13 games. He is just 9 of 42 at the plate this season while posting a career-low OBP. Rushing, the Dodgers' 2024 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year, has been lighting it up in Triple A this season where he's hit five home runs to go with a slash line of .308/.424/.515.
Dalton Rushing has been called up by the Dodger per @FabianArdaya.
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) May 14, 2025
2025 (AAA): 132 PA, .308/.424/.515, 5 2B, 5 HR, 15.9% BB, 22% K
Rushing is one of the best prospect bats in the game, but his PT situation is cloudy.#LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/EsqDSbmRkb
Barnes made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2015 and was a member of World Series championship teams in 2020 and '24. In 2020 he appeared in 10 of the team's 18 postseason games, went 8 for 25 with three RBI and scored four runs. He also homered in Game 3 of that World Series.
Rushing will presumably take Barnes's spot backing up Smith and find him at-bats wherever they can. The Dodgers are again one of the best teams in baseball, but only have a half-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dodgers Replacing Longest Tenured Position Player With Top Prospect.
