Cincinnati Reds News: Tucker Barnhart not opposed to many proposals

Tucker Barnhart, the player representative for the Cincinnati Reds, shared his thoughts on Major League Baseball’s efforts to restart the season.

In a recent interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Tucker Barnhart spoke about his thoughts and concerns regarding some of the proposed ideas from Major League Baseball to restart the 2020 season. One plan didn’t sit too well with Barnhart, but it sounds as though the majority of ideas floated by MLB are favorable to him and the other Cincinnati Reds players.

Tucker Barnhart is the player’s union rep for the Cincinnati Reds. Barnhart said that he’s been in constant contact with the player’s association and has been brought up to speed on the negotiations between MLB and the player’s association. Barnhart then relays that information to his Reds teammates.

From Barnhart’s perspective, the only plan that he’s disagreed with was the so-called “Arizona Plan”. This plan would’ve sent Cincinnati and the other 29 Major League Baseball teams to Arizona, kept the players isolated and seen them play games at MLB spring training facilities in front of no fans.

With a young son at home and his wife due to give birth to their second child in July, it’s understandable as to why this idea didn’t sit well with Barnhart. He was not the only player to voice concern over that proposal, as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was quite vocal about his thoughts on the matter.

There was also the idea of three-city sites (St. Petersburg, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona and Arlington, Texas), with players relocating to those areas while playing at the home stadiums of thee Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers.

That plan, however, seems to have fallen by the wayside as it appears that Major League Baseball would prefer to have the majority of teams play games at their home stadiums, albeit in front of no fans. This plan would also realign the divisions for the 2020 season.

Regardless of which plan is chosen, it’s good to hear from Tucker Barnhart that the league and the union are working together in order to help get the players back onto the field as soon as possible. Barnhart praised the union and the commissioner’s office for providing a very unifying message.