Infielder Jose Barrero and the Orioles have reunited on a new minor league deal for 2026, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Barrero had signed a minor league deal with the club in July but this new deal reunites him with the O’s for 2026 and includes an invite to major league spring training.
Barrero, 27, has appeared in five major league seasons but with limited playing time in each. He has appeared in a total of 161 games with a .182/.238/.257 batting line. He has nine stolen bases and provided defensive versatility. He has big league experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as center and right field.
Picking up Barrero is a bet more on his past prospect pedigree. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top 100 prospects in the league in both 2021 and 2022, when he was with the Reds. He put up a .303/.380/.539 line in the minors in 2021, production which translated to a wRC+ of 142.
Things have been choppy since then. As mentioned, his big league looks haven’t led to much. His minor league numbers also tailed off. He exhausted his final option season in 2023. The Reds put him on waivers in March of 2024. He was claimed by the Rangers, though that club managed to pass him through waivers unclaimed shortly thereafter. He spent most of that year on the minor league injured list. He only got into 49 games and slashed .188/.277/.345 in those.
He signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals coming into 2025 and started the season in good form. He had a .299/.396/.517 line in Triple-A when the Cards called him up in late April, though they didn’t play him much. He was on the roster for about two months but only got 31 plate appearances, hitting .138/.194/.276 in that sporadic playing time.
He was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected free agency, which is when he signed his aforementioned minor league deal with the Orioles. He produced a rough .190/.261/.344 line for Triple-A Norfolk down the stretch. Despite those numbers, the O’s apparently like Barrero enough to bring him back in a non-roster capacity and see what happens next year. He’s had some ups and downs but is still just 27, so perhaps he can recapture some of previous form.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images