Barnes was released by the Pirates on Monday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.
Barnes, the 45th pick in the 2012 draft, has struggled to stay healthy throughout his professional career, ultimately leading to underwhelming production. Across six minor-league seasons, the 26-year-old has appeared in just 355 games. In his first taste of Triple-A last season, the 26-year-old posted a .247/.357/.366 slash line across 31 games for Indianapolis. Barnes will now look for opportunities elsewhere.
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Pirates' Barrett Barnes: Returns from hamstring injury
Rotowire
Barnes (hamstring) is back in action with Triple-A Indianapolis.
He is hitting .143/.250/.143 with eight strikeouts in 21 at-bats since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first five weeks of the season.
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Pirates' Barrett Barnes: Sent to minor league camp
Rotowire
Barnes (hamstring) was reassigned to minor league camp.
The 25-year-old delivered in his second go-round at Double-A Altoona last season, planting a .306/.377/.477 line with nine home runs and 10 stolen bases in 458 plate appearances. Barnes may be ticketed for Triple-A Indianapolis soon but has a steep hill to climb to earn playing time with the Buccos in 2017, especially if his recent hamstring injury turns out to be something serious.
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Pirates' Barrett Barnes: Exits Thursday's game with hamstring injury
Rotowire
Barnes left Tuesday's game after injuring his hamstring running to first base, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.
Barnes was hustling to first to pick up an infield single when he seemed to tweak his hamstring. Information regarding the severity of his injury should become available after the team's training staff has the chance to further examine him.
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Pirates' Barrett Barnes: Left unprotected by Pirates
Rotowire
The Pirates chose not to protect Barnes from the Rule 5 draft.
The 45th pick in the 2012 draft, Barnes has struggled with injuries since being drafted. He played in a career-high 95 games split between High-A and Double-A in 2015, slashing .256/.352/.403 with nine homers and 17 stolen bases. The 24-year-old totaled only 101 games in his first three pro seasons, however, which makes one wonder if he can stay healthy for 2016.
