Although it took longer than most Dodger fans would have liked, it appears that 29-year-old Dodgers catcher/utility infielder Austin Barnes has been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and extremely popular 24-year-old catcher Will Smith recalled to the big league club.

Although there has been no official confirmation or announcement from the Dodgers, early Thursday afternoon, Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra reported on Twitter that Barnes had been optioned to OKC. A short while later, AM 570’s Petros and Money told their live audience that Smith was on his way to Nationals Park in Washington DC, where the Dodgers open a three-game weekend series with the Nationals beginning on Friday evening.

There is no kind or gentle way to put it, Barnes, a native of nearby Fullerton, CA, has been absolutely horrible – at least offensively – in the 70 games in which he has appeared with the Dodgers this season. The former Arizona State University Sun Devil and Dodgers ninth-round draft pick in 2011 is slashing a dismal .196 / .288 / .328 / .616 with five home runs and 23 RBI. He has also struck out 53 times in his 204 at-bats. His numbers are even worse – if that is even possible – with runners in scoring position. In such situations, he is slashing .163 / .283 / .245 / .528 with 18 strikeouts.

Smith, on the other hand, slashed .269 / .345 / .654 / .999 in the nine games in which he appeared with the big league club this season, with three home runs and nine RBI. The Louisville, KY native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2016 out of the University of Louisville hit his first major league home run in his first major league at-bat on June 1 – and it was a walk-off home run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Twenty-two days later Smith hit another walk-off home run, this one a three-run shot against Colorado Rockies on June 23, to give the Dodgers the 6-3 walk-off win.

After being optioned back to OKC on June 26, Smith went on an absolute terror, slugging six home runs and driving in 15 over a 12-game period. In his combined 51 games as the OKC Dodgers catcher, Smith committed only five errors in 537 total chances for a very good .991 fielding percentage. In his nine games with the LA Dodgers, he did not commit an error in 69 total chances for a perfect 1.000 FPCT.

Ironically, Barnes committed five errors in 550 total chances with the Dodgers for an identical .991 FPCT, supporting the claim that he is indeed a very good defensive catcher … He just can’t hit.

Welcome back, Fresh Prince!

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