Reds news: Top prospect changes name to honor his late mother

Cincinnati Reds top infield prospect, Jose Garcia, has changed his last name. According to CBS Sports, Garcia has adopted the last name of his late mother who recently passed away from a COVID-19 related illness. The Reds top shortstop prospect is now Jose Barrero.

Barrero, who’s currently playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts, Cincinnati’s Double-A affiliate, is away from the team following the death of his mother. Barrero received a promotion to the big leagues during last year’s abbreviated 60-game season, but showed that he still needed some more seasoning at the minor league level.

Reds prospect Jose Barrero has played well for Double-A Chattanooga.

Last season, Jose Barrero made his major league debut on August 27th versus the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in 24 games for the Cincinnati Reds. The right-handed hitting shortstop hit just .194 in 64 plate appearances. Hey did not record a home run, and according to FanGraphs, registered a -0.6 WAR.

The lack of offensive production forced the front office’s hand this spring. Despite high hopes for the 23-year-old, the decision was made to send Barrero to Double-A Chattanooga to begin the 2021 season.

Barrero was joined in Tennessee by two more of Cincinnati’s highly-rated prospects – Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo. All three have played exceedingly well for the Lookouts this season. Both Greene and Lodolo have taken home Player of the Week honors this year.

Barrero has appeared in 16 games for Double-A Chattanooga this season. The Cuban-born infielder is slashing .323/.394/.645 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. If Barrero continues to put up these types of numbers, you can bet a promotion to Triple-A will be in his future.

For the Cincinnati faithful, a promotion to the big leagues can’t come soon enough. The Reds front office failed to acquire one of the the top free agent shortstops available this winter and settled on moving Eugenio Suarez from third base to his former position. The results have not been good, and most of Reds Country can’t wait until Jose Barrero becomes the full-time shortstop.