CINCINNATI, Ohio — Tucker Barnhart has played his entire MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds. He’s not sure if that will continue.
The Brownsburg native has been a catcher in the Reds organization since 2014, but his contract ended at the conclusion of the team’s 2021 season, which was Sunday.
Will the team re-sign him?
“Unfortunately, I have no idea,” Barnhart told The Ride with JMV on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis. “I wish I had a better answer for you. I think they’ve got some things that they have to figure out, as far as which direction they, as an organization, are going.”
However, Barnhart says he, his wife, and his two children have already packed up their house, in preparation for the idea that he’ll be signing with a different team and living in a different city.
“It’s one of those things that I have to plan for it to be over,” he said. “We packed up a house that we’ve rented for the last five years. Packed up a U-Haul and sent it back to Indiana.”
“It’s tough. I mean, Cincinnati is everything my family has known. I love Cincinnati as a whole. It feels like another Indianapolis. To me, it’s home.”
He reminded fans that professional athletes are humans, with emotions, as well.
“When we got back from Pittsburgh, I was talking to the guys, and there were multiple times where I got choked up and I cried,” Barnhart said.
“There’s a human element that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle…people don’t understand, like, the reality of the situation is that I’m a normal guy.”
Barnhart says the Reds have until five days after the World Series to make a decision on if they’ll bring him back or not.
