Clint Barmes
Age: 32
Birth Place: Vincennes, Indiana
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 205 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Career Stats:
(FanGraphs)
2012 Projections
(FanGraphs)
Clint Barmes was drafted in 2000 by the Colorado Rockies. The Indiana State University gradutate took three years to make it to the big leagues, debuting with the Rockies in September of 2003. On June 5th, 2005, Barmes broke his left collarbone when he fell on the stairs of his apartment while carrying a package of deer meat that was given to him by teammate Todd Helton. The injury sidelined him for the rest of the season and ended his chances of winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. His next season was considered a disappointment, and in 2007, he lost the starting SS role to young stud Troy Tulowitzki. Barmes spent the majority of that season in AAA. He continued for a few more seasons playing second base for the Rockies, and saw some time at shortstop when Tulo suffered a wrist injury in 2010.
In Novemeber of 2010, Barmes was traded to Houston, where he played shortstop in 2011. He hit .244 with 12 homers and 44 RBI for the Astros. In his career, Barmes is a lifetime .252 hitter with 73 HR and 324 RBI. This offseason, he signed a 2 year/$10.5M contract with the Pirates.
Barmes seems to be another player that has been lured to Pittsburgh by manager Clint Hurdle. He played under Hurdle in Colorado, and Clint is a guy who has a lot of faith in his players. Barmes does not get on base as much as we’d like, but he does hit for pretty decent power for a middle infielder. He is also very slick in the field, and is one of the better defensive shortstops. He’s certainly an upgrade of Cedeno, but we seemed to overpay for him. It’s great that the Pirates are spending money, but $10.5M seems a bit steep for the 32-year old Barmes. Picking up Cedeno’s option would have been much cheaper, but management never seemed to get along with Ronny, as seen through a few benchings in his time with the Buccos. Barmes is projected to have around 12 homers and 50 RBI with about a .245 average. Bill James’ projections for Cedeno are 6 HR, 39 RBI, and a .249 average. The Pirates offense needs a huge boost, and Barmes could provide a little more production. Although he is not the long term answer at shortstop, Barmes should suffice for now.
Go Bucs
From Forbes to Federal 