Cardinals sign division rival's former top 100 prospect to bolster infield depth

It's now official - the St. Louis Cardinals are signing former Cincinnati Red shortstop Jose Barrero to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

While the move certainly isn't groundbreaking as we sit here today, Barrero's background and pedigree as a prospect are indeed notable, and he could end up pushing for a depth role with the Cardinals behind Masyn Winn and Thomas Saggese.

Not only was Barrero a top 100 prospect for the Reds prior to the 2022 season, but he was actually their top-ranked prospect and ranked as high as number 33 overall by Baseball America entering the season, above names like Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Green.

Barrero played in 139 games for Cincinnati before electing minor league free agency this offseason, and the results were not impressive at all. In 447 plate appearances, Barrero managed a .186/.242/.255 slash line, good for a 31 wRC+ and -2.1 fWAR for Cincinnati.

2024 was a rough year for Barrero all around, but he did impress at Triple-A in 2023, slashing .258/.333/.540 with 19 home runs in 90 games. He is also seen to be an above-average defender at shortstop whose defense could play up if he is at another position.

Barrero's main struggle at the plate has been his inability to lay off sliders. He's someone who has crushed fastballs regularly in the past, but as the breaking stuff he is facing has gotten more advanced, he's struggled to figure things out. He's also a plus runner who can make an impact on the base paths.

There's obviously a reason the Reds allowed him to hit free agency this offseason - he's not lived up to the expectations the club had for him. Is it likely that he fulfills those in St. Louis? Probably not. But taking a flyer on a player like Barrero seems to make a lot of sense, especially with the lack of depth behind Winn and Saggese.

Right now, Jose Fermin seems to be the next man up at shortstop for St. Louis, and we've seen how that's gone thus far. A minor-league contract and Spring Training invite is hardly a strong investment from the Cardinals, but it does give them a look at a 26-year-old who could fight his way to an impactful role in the future.

The Cardinals are no strangers to prospects going elsewhere and finding success with other organizations (Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, and Lane Thomas to name a few), so wouldn't it be nice if Barrero could be that type of guy for them?

Overall, the signing should be seen for exactly what it is - a depth move involving a position of need with the player carrying significant prospect pedigree in his past. We know Barrero has the kinds of tools to be a really successful big leaguer if he can work out some of the weaknesses in his game, but if he can't, it did not really hurt the Cardinals to make this move either way.