CINCINNATI -- Utilizing the English-to-Spanish translation skills of bullpen catcher Kleininger Teran to answer the first eight questions about his promotion back to the big leagues, Cardinals utility fielder Jose Barrero spoke up on the ninth query and answered on his own with plenty of conviction.
Quizzed about how he stayed strong mentally while wondering if he would ever get another shot at the big leagues after fizzling over parts of four seasons with the Reds from 2020-23, the Cuban-born Barrero handled the question by speaking eloquently and passionately in English.
“Competing every day and winning,” Barrero said. “That’s the mentality and that's the most important thing to me. If you win, everything is going to be great.”
After spending the early-morning hours of Monday traveling from Norfolk, Va., to Cincinnati, Barrero didn’t get into the Cardinals’ 3-1 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals scored the first run four batters into the game following doubles by Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Arenado, but they failed to push across another run.
The fifth inning proved deflating when the first two batters reached, but Reds catcher Jose Trevino pounced on a bunt and turned it into a force out. Then, Nootbaar’s Statcast-projected 104.9-mph laser was turned into a double play by second baseman Matt McLain.
"You're hoping for [runs] there, but Trevino made a nice play,” Cards manager Oliver Marmol said. “You're hoping for a crooked number there, especially with the way [Nootbaar] has been swinging it if we get those guys over and get them in. But that didn't happen."
Barrero, 27, has a newfound confidence to him after thriving at Triple-A Memphis with a new swing approach taught to him by Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown. That work conducted throughout Spring Training helped the speedy Barrero hit .299 with five doubles, a triple, four home runs and 13 RBIs in 23 games at Triple-A.
That offensive growth earned Barrero a promotion to the big leagues, something that was certainly a big deal to him after he spent all last season at Triple-A Round Rock while a part of the Rangers organization. The player Barrero is now -- compared to the one who hit just .186 over 139 career MLB games with the Reds -- is night and day, he said.
“Totally, especially with my mindset,” said Barrero, who recently strung together a 19-game on-base streak, while also stealing five bases for Memphis. “I enjoy [baseball] more now, and I compete in a better way. That’s allowed me to understand everything better, and like I said, I’m going to compete and give everything I have now.”
That’s just what the Cardinals want to hear after promoting him and optioning infielder Thomas Saggese, the No. 5-ranked prospect in the organization who was sent down so that he could get everyday reps at the plate and in the field, per Marmol. St. Louis believed enough in Barrero -- who will split time between shortstop and center field -- that it designated pitcher Ryan Loutos for assignment to create room on the 40-player roster.
“[Barrero] had a really good start and talking to [Redbirds manager] Ben [Johnson], he was able to show some of the [swing changes] in games,” Marmol said. “Defensively, he’s played an incredible short and he’s felt super comfortable in center.”
It wasn’t lost on Barrero that his return to the big leagues comes in the same place where he was the Reds’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2021 and their top prospect in 2023. In 2020, when he made his MLB debut, he came in with much the same hype as current-day superstar Elly De La Cruz because of the breathtaking skill set the 6-foot-4, 211-pounder can flash.
However, struggles at the plate, always doused the massive potential that he had defensively and as a basestealer. Still, Barrero said he will always have fond memories of his time with the Reds.
“I lived really close to the stadium, I was here almost three or four years, and I ate a lot of the Dominican food close to here,” he said. “But now I’m on a different team and that team is going to get all my energy.”
During his time in Cincinnati, Barrero’s mother, Tania Barrero, died in Cuba from the COVID-19 virus in 2021. That prompted Jose to change his last name from Garcia to Barrero as a tribute to the woman who pushed him to keep chasing his dreams. Upon getting back to the big leagues, Jose had thoughts about his mother and father, Jose, who often dreamed of playing professionally, but never reached the big leagues.
“Every second that I have here, I’m going to enjoy it,” he said. “My parents are going to be really proud of me.”