:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49880607/usa-today-7964563.0.jpg)
Texas Longhorns junior catcher Tres Barrera has signed a professional contract with the Washington Nationals organization, according to a report from Jill Callis of MLB.com. Barrera was drafted in the sixth round by the Nationals and was the 184th overall pick in the amateur draft.
6th-rder Tres Barrera inks w/@Nationals, $210k (pick 184 = $265,400). Texas C, plus raw power, arm & rec fine, needs more contact @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 16, 2016
As noted by Callis, Barrera will receive a $210,000 signing bonus from Washington. The team signed him to an below-slot deal, as the slot value for the 184th pick in the draft was $265,400. There was no doubt that the Nationals would end up signing the 21-year-old backstop, as he tweeted out shortly after he was drafted that he was “proud to be apart of the D.C. family.”
Want to thank the Washington Nationals for the great opportunity! It's only the beginning! Proud to be apart of the D.C family
— Tres Barrera (@TresBarrera13) June 10, 2016
“It’s kind of nerve-racking,” said Barrera about being selected by the Nationals to Travis Recek of Time Warner Cable News. “I don’t even think I was able to talk on the phone when they gave me the call. I mean it’s a dream come true. It’s every young ballplayer’s dream to play professional baseball and now the grind starts, man. We’ll see what happens and see where this game takes me.”
Barrera is the second member of this season’s Longhorns team to sign a professional contract after being drafted, as he joins senior left-handed pitcher Ty Culberth, who was drafted in the eighth round by the Colorado Rockies. Culberth will join the Rockies’ rookie-ball affiliate in Grand Junction, according to a report from Dustin McComas of OrangeBloods.com.
Over 57 games played this year with Texas, Barrera posted a .289/.379/.455 (.834 OPS) slash line in 211 at bats, along with six home runs, 17 doubles, 35 runs scored and 37 runs batted in. He appeared in 31 games at catcher, 14 games at third base (14), eight games as the team’s designated hitter, three games at first base and one game at second base in 2016. Over his three-year career in Austin, he compiled a strong slash line of .279/.370/.444 (.814 OPS) in 664 at bats, along with 20 home runs, 38 doubles, six triples, 105 runs scored and 106 runs batted in, in 179 games played.