The Dodgers are already making offseason decisions.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are just one day removed from celebrating their World Series victory over the New York Yankees. On Friday, the Dodgers rode on parade buses through downtown Los Angeles before coming back to Dodger Stadium to celebrate the championship at their home stadium.
Just one day later, the Dodgers are already back to business as the offseason officially begins. The first order of business? Exercising their $3.5 million club option on catcher Austin Barnes, via Robert Murray.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have exercised their $3.5 million club option on catcher Austin Barnes, according to a source familiar with the situation.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) November 2, 2024
Barnes signed a two-year, $7 million extension with the Dodgers in July 2022, guaranteeing Barnes would remain a Dodger through the 2024 season. The deal included the $3.5 million option for the 2025 season, which the Dodgers have now taken up.
Barnes has spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers, and that streak will now continue into 2025. The Miami Marlins drafted Barnes in the ninth round of the 2011 MLB Draft but traded him to the Dodgers in December 2014. Barnes made his MLB debut the following season.
The 34-year-old will enter his 11th season as a Dodger in 2025. During the 2024 season, Barnes appeared in 54 games for the Dodgers, slashing .264/.331/.307 with 37 hits, 12 runs, one home run, and 11 RBIs.
Barnes appeared in just one game for the Dodgers during the postseason, appearing in the Dodgers’ 12-6 loss to the New York Mets during the National League Championship Series. He did not record an at-bat, but nevertheless won his second World Series title.
Barnes now primarily serves as a backup catcher to Will Smith, who is slated to be the future of the Dodgers at the position. Smith signed a 10-year, 140 million contract extension with the Dodgers in March at the beginning of the 2024 season, solidifying his future with the team.
After securing Barnes for another season, the Dodgers will now have to turn to other decisions they will have to make this season. They will have to make decisions on whether or not to re-sign multiple free agents, including Teoscar Hernández, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Kiké Hernández, Blake Treinen, and Joe Kelly.
The Dodgers will have to balance those decisions while also figuring out which players they want to pursue in free agency, and potentially bring to the organization to go after another World Series in 2025.
