Good Morning –
The Mets continue to
sign baseball players that haven’t been successful at the major league level.
Most have been relief pitchers. This time, it was a veteran catcher.
GROK –
Austin Barnes is a 36-year-old
professional baseball catcher born on December 28, 1989, in Riverside,
California.
He's known primarily for his
long tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Career Highlights
Drafted by the Florida
Marlins in the 9th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Arizona State University.
Traded to the Dodgers in
2014 (part of the Dee Gordon/Miguel Rojas deal).
Made his MLB debut with the
Dodgers in 2015.
Served mostly as a backup
catcher, valued for elite defense, pitch framing, game-calling, and veteran
leadership behind the plate.
Key contributor to Dodgers'
World Series wins in 2020 and 2024.
Career MLB stats (through
2025): .223 AVG, 35 HR, 162 RBI, .660 OPS over parts of 11 seasons (mostly
limited playing time batting low in the order).
Nickname: "Sam"
Strong defensive reputation;
offensively, his best year was 2017 (.289 AVG, strong power for a catcher
role).
Recent Updates (as of
January 2026)
He was released by the
Dodgers in May 2025 after a brief stint (13 games, .214 AVG, low power output).
Signed briefly with the San
Francisco Giants' minor league system but was released in August 2025.
Just days ago (late January
2026), the New York Mets signed him to a minor league contract with an
invitation to major league spring training. The deal reportedly includes a $1.5
million base if he makes the roster, plus up to $500K in incentives.
This is a low-risk depth
move for the Mets, likely aiming for his defensive skills and experience as
backup/mentor potential.
MACK –
The job of any back-up
catcher is to provide all-star defense. The offense comes from the starter.
The Mets are lined up
with, what seems, like an endless amount of prospect catchres… Chris Suero, Ronald
Hernandez, Daiverson Guitterrez, Yovanny Rodriguez,
and Josmir
Reyes.
Before the Barnes deal, Kevin Parada would
have been the back-up catcher. Parada catches with a pitchfork. He basically
throws underhand.
As of right now, his
only future is as a DH.
The New York Mets have
signed Grae
Kessinger to a minor league contract.
GROK –
Grae Kessinger is a professional
baseball infielder born on August 25, 1997, in Oxford, Mississippi.
He's 28 years old, stands
6'1", weighs around 204 lbs, bats and throws right-handed, and primarily
plays shortstop (SS), third base (3B), and second base.Family
Background
He's part of a notable
baseball family: Grandson of Don Kessinger, a
longtime MLB shortstop (mainly with the Chicago Cubs) and All-Star. Nephew of Keith Kessinger,
who had a brief MLB stint with the Cincinnati Reds in 1993.
Amateur and College Career
Kessinger was a standout at
Oxford High School in Mississippi. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in
the 26th round of the 2016 MLB Draft but didn't sign and instead attended the
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).
At Ole Miss, he excelled as
a shortstop:
In his junior year (2019),
he hit .330 with 18 doubles, 7 home runs, 50 RBIs, and was a key player.
He won the Brooks Wallace
Award (nation's top shortstop).
Earned multiple All-American
honors, First-Team All-SEC, and was a finalist for Mississippi's top college
player award.
Helped the Rebels in
postseason play, including strong showings in regionals and super regionals.
Professional Career
Selected by the Houston
Astros in the 2nd round (68th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Progressed through the
minors, ranking as a top Astros prospect in the early 2020s.
Made his MLB debut with the
Astros on June 7, 2023.
Appeared in a total of 49
MLB games with Houston across 2023-2024, mostly in a utility role. His MLB
batting stats have been limited and modest (e.g., low averages in small
samples, with a few extra-base hits including his first career home run in
2023).
Spent time bouncing between
the majors and Triple-A (Sugar Land Space Cowboys), with some injuries and
options.
Designated for assignment by
the Astros in late 2024.
Traded to the Arizona
Diamondbacks in January 2025 for a minor-league pitcher.
Played briefly in the
D-backs system (including time on the injured list) before being released in
April 2025 after just 11 games.
As of late January 2026, he
signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets, including an invitation
to major league spring training. This adds infield depth for them, with reports
of a $900K
major-league salary if he makes the roster.
He's known for solid
defensive skills (especially at shortstop, with smooth actions and strong arm
from his scouting days) and some power potential shown in college/minors (over
100 extra-base hits in the minors), though his big-league offensive output has
been limited so far.
Overall, Kessinger is a
versatile infielder with strong pedigree and defensive chops, working his way
toward potentially sticking in the majors again with his new Mets opportunity.
30 of the best prospects
who missed the Top 100 list -- 1 for each team
https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-team-s-best-non-top-100-prospect-2026?partnerID=web_article-share
Mets: Ryan Clifford,
1B/OF
Fellow corner infielder
Jacob Reimer deserves a mention here too as both aren’t far off from Top 100
status. But Clifford's strikeout rate dipped a bit in his age-21 season across
the top two levels of the Minors, helping quiet some of the concerns that he’ll
be a three-true-outcome slugger. He still took a ton of walks and hit for good
pop (29 homers) ahead of his return to Triple-A Syracuse. Clifford could be an
MLB option at first base or the corner outfield spots by the first half,
depending on club need.
MACK – Good
to see that someone other than me thing Clifford can be a factor this season.
Keith Law – Top 100 Mets
Prospects
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6985939/2026/01/26/top-mlb-prospects-2026-keith-law-konnor-griffin/
#72 Jonah Tong
RHP
2025 Ranking: NR
Tong’s MLB debut didn’t go
well, to put it mildly, but in his defense, it was an aggressive assignment for
a player with just nine innings above A-ball coming into 2025, and his season
beyond that was exemplary. Tong led all of minor-league baseball with 179
strikeouts thanks to his very high arm slot and plus extension, which gives his
94-96 mph fastball nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break and generated a
36 percent whiff rate on the pitch in the minors. He pairs it with a changeup
that wouldn’t be plus on its own — it has a little arm-side fade without much
tumble — but plays way up because hitters can’t distinguish between the two
pitches out of his hand, and the fastball rides up much more than they expect
while the changeup doesn’t. He’s very north-south, typical for over-the-top
guys, using a downward-breaking curveball more in the minors, but the Mets are
trying to develop a slider or sweeper he can use to get some more lateral
movement and force hitters to think more in four directions rather than two.
His command and control have improved dramatically, as he walked 22 percent of
batters he faced in 2023 (when he was still throwing 90-92) and cut that to
10.6 percent last year even as his velocity kept increasing. I don’t usually
rank guys with this kind of arm slot anywhere near this high, as the
overwhelming majority of them end up relievers. Tong’s stuff is on another
level, he can get hitters on both sides out, and he’s an elite athlete who has
already shown he can make a ton of adjustments. He should be at least a
mid-rotation starter and could be a No. 2 starter if he finds a suitable
breaking ball to expand his movement profile.
2026 Top 100 Prospects
Thomas Nestico from
TJStats tjstats@substack.com
39) Jonah Tong - P
- NYM
Jonah Tong struck out the
world in 2025 while doing a fantastic job at limiting damage on all his
offerings. His cut-fastball leads the way here thanks to the incredible ride on
the pitch. This season it is averaging ~19” iVB while sitting 94-96 MPH, which
is +2 MPH harder than in 2024. His over-the-top delivery is a massive driver
into its high riding nature. Thanks to his smaller stature and above-average
extension, he is able to get down to a ~6 ft vertical release point. The
combination of massive ride from an unorthodox release aides in its
effectiveness. Tong’s secondaries are a big point of discussion regarding his
future as a starter. He has a wide array of them, including a changeup,
curveball, slider, and a new cutter. The development of his changeup has been
imperative to his success against LHH. It sits in the mid 80s, showcasing good
velocity differential from his fastball. The biggest changes have come in its
shape as it is showcasing a lot more depth as well as his feel of the pitch. He
has been excellent with both its consistency and control, which has pushed it
from a below average offering to plus. His curveball may be his most memorable
pitch thanks to its massive vertical separation from his fastball. It sits at
76-78 MPH and can reach -20” iVB. That is over 3’ of separation from his
fastball! He commands the pitch well, but there are concerns that the massive
drop on the pitch in the mid 70s may not fool Major League hitters. Tong’s
slider and cutter are his least used offerings and for good reason. He doesn’t
have the greatest feel for them, and each exhibit subpar movement traits.
Control still seems to be the biggest hurdle for Tong as he is struggling to
throw strikes and get ahead of batters early in the count. His stuff is
untouchable and his gaudy whiff rates and excellent damage metrics back it up,
however his inability to generate chases keeps his walk rate well below
average. His fastball will make him a stud bullpen arm in a pinch, but he needs
more time to refine its command before being a mainstay in the Mets rotation.
The Mets released RHP Estarlin Escalante and Luis Ortiz
16 comments:
Tong…maybe he refined his command and developed that extra pitch during this long off-season. The writers to a good analysis, for sure, but always seem to leave out the idea that someone can really improve upon something during the off-season to raise their profile. For Jonah, we’ll see.
Austin seems like an emergency third or fourth string catcher at this point, but he’s probably got great coaching skills from the defensive standpoint, so if he’s in AAA, he can teach the kids a thing or three. Maybe he has a future as a coach, I don’t know.
You have Senger for AAA. I’m telling you, sell high on Torrens - he only have one year of control left.
What does “GROK” mean before all these snipets?
Tong has added a sweeper. In reading reports, I understand why they wouldn’t let him go,
This seems like a "prove it" year for Ryan Clifford. He has been up and coming since he was acquired, but at some point he needs to show he can hit MLB quality pitching with a reasonable K rate and above average power.
To me, the WOW this morning is that Lindor and many Puerto Ricans cannot play in the WBC because insurance is not picking up their tab if they get hurt. Puerto Rico is hosting and has threatened to withdraw their team. This is called the “Edwin Diaz” decision, and I have told y’all again and again, the guy has a ten cents brain. I have no problem seeing him move on. I’m just curious what will happen as the steals accumulate.
It’s Elons form of AI answering the question
Austin “Purple” Hays wants playing lots of time, signs for one year, $6 million with CWS. Would you rather sit on the bench or a contender and play part time, or full-time for a losing franchise? I’d wanna play.
Gus, if Lindor and the others wanted to play so badly and it was just a matter of insurance, they could dip into their own pockets and come up with the money for the insurance. After all, Lindor is a mega millionaire. I guess he doesn’t want it that bad.
Tom, I wish you had read an article a couple of years baxk on how cheap some players are. They won’t even buy water because the clubhouse is supposed to provide it. Lindor wasn’t on that list, and he does tremendous community service, but only a few would do that for their homeland. These guys are risking millions of dollars when other risk their lives for their homeland…
Thank you Zozo. I’ve become a dinosaur already.
TexasGus: Grok originally appeared in the 1961 Robert A Heinlein Nebula Award winning (best Sci Fi novel) "Stanger in a Strange Land," about an earthling who grew up on Mars. Grok is the Martian word for water, and in this context, means to fully understand. I read it shortly after publication, which would make me older than a dinosaur. one of the few books I've read 2x's, decades apart, another being Bill Veeck's "Veeck as in Wreck," another classic, both highly recommended. haven't read either in a couple of decades or so, probably time to do so again.
I dunno Paul. The kid is still 21, and has already tasted AAA. He could scuffle all year and would still be ahead of schedule if he started ‘27 in AAA again. This is a year of big opportunity for Clifford, but I don’t think he’s under the gun to put it all together yet.
Barnes has multiple opt-out dates if he’s not put on the roster. Torrens is probably the best back-up catcher in the NL (he was a Gold Glove finalist in ‘25 as a part time player.). Barnes is good insurance, but serves another purpose as well.
With a likely AAA starting rotation that includes Scott, Tong, Wenninger, Santucci, Watson, and Thornton - all guys that the org believes will be big league starters - Barnes is a great guy to have working with them in ST and early in the year in Syracuse.
I like keeping Luis T, because catchers get hurt so easily. You never know when your second string catch you will need to catch 80 games. And, Francisco A is not exactly Lou Gehrig when it comes to durability.
Why should the mlb team assume all the injury risk? This is great news. Let the players self-insure if thy want to play. No way li for or any other player takes that bet. Always easier to play when risk is absorbed by other people’s money!
RVH, I AGREE. My agreement concretely means that whenever Diaz got hurt he shouldn’t have been paid. When Diaz risked it by playing there, he should’ve owned it.
No player self insures, even in soccer. While the World Cup draws a tremendous world wide tv audience and sold out stadiums, the WBC is a smaller version geared towards the lesser amount of countries that play baseball. Further, the leagues dont insure the players in soccer but FIFA does. But, in this instance since MLB is playing FIFA’s role and throwing the party, thus making the coin, technically they should cover the bill for the insurance too.
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