Major leagues
With Devin Mesoraco beginning the 2014 season on the disabled list,Barnhart made the Reds' 2014 Opening Day roster,as a backup to Brayan Peña. [11] [12] Barnhart made his major league debut on April 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting at catcher (with Homer Bailey the starting pitcher) and batting eighth,he went 0-for-4 with one strikeout. [13] [14] Two days later,he got his first big-league hit,a single off New York Mets pitcher Dillon Gee;for the game,Barnhart went 2-for-4. [15]
Barnhart was optioned to the Louisville Bats of the Triple–A International League on April 7,when Mesoraco was activated. [16] He was later recalled by the Reds,and on May 1,he hit his first major league home run,a fifth-inning solo shot off the Milwaukee Brewers' Marco Estrada. [17] [18] He was optioned back to Louisville on May 18. [19] On July 6,with Peña on the paternity list and also forced to play more at first base due to injuries,the Reds recalled Barnhart. [19] Barnhart was optioned back to Louisville on July 11. [19]
Due to injuries to Mesoraco,Barnhart started 67 games at catcher for the Reds in 2015 and 108 games in 2016. [20] On September 22,2017,Barnhart signed a four-year contract extension with the Reds,worth $16 million,plus a $7.5 million club option for the 2022 season. [21] He led National League catchers in wins above replacement and caught stealing percentage. He also led the major leagues in runners caught stealing (32). [22] After the 2017 season,he won his first Gold Glove Award,the first by a Reds catcher since Johnny Bench's 10-year run from 1968 to 1977. [23]
In June 2019,he suffered a moderate abdominal and oblique strain,and was placed on the injured list. [24] In late August 2019,he gave up switch hitting and became a left-handed hitter. [25]
In 2020 for the Reds,Barnhart played in 38 games,batting .204/.291/.388 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. [26] After the season,he was rewarded the Gold Glove Award for NL catchers,the second Gold Glove Award of his career. [27] On May 7,2021,Barnhart caught Wade Miley's no-hitter. [28] He finished the 2021 season batting .247/.317/.368 with 7 home runs and 48 RBIs in 116 games.
