The Los Angeles Dodgers cut two of their longest-tenured players in the span of a week. Backup catcher Austin Barnes was designated for assignment, and utility man Chris Taylor was released.
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The Dodgers made it clear the player cuts were a business decision amid a tight NL West race. Both veterans were used sparingly this season.
This season, Barnes was slashing .214/.233/.286 with two RBIs and an OPS of .518 across 44 plate appearances. The backstop played in just 13 games.
Taylor received 35 plate appearances, going 7-for-35 with 13 strikeouts this season. He appeared in 28 of the Dodgers’ 46 games in 2025.
While the Dodgers’ decision to part ways with Barnes and Taylor made sense, Freddie Freeman explained how emotional their departures have been for the team.
“It’s like – there’s a card group of guys on the plane. Austin was one of them. Now Kirby Yates is on the IL. That’s another one that’s not going to travel,” Freeman said to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. “A lot of people don’t understand, there’s a lot of things that go on. Losing people over the course of a year, it stinks.”
Freeman understands that the reality of baseball is the departure of longtime friends; however, the Dodgers’ top priority remains winning.
“It does suck. There’s no way around it,” Freeman said. “If you say you’re not sad when you lose friends, you’re not a human. You just get going. You’re going to be a little sad but that can’t be the reason you go 0 for 4 now.”
“It’s hard. It really is. But you do understand that it’s a business and you have to keep going,” he continued.
“When you do lose two respected veterans in the clubhouse, you’ve got to be a grown boy and understand the reasoning. You can be sad that you lost a friend – you can still be in contact with that friend. But we’ve got to keep going. I think we’ve got a good group of guys that will keep this machine going.”
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Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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