Charlie BarnesCHC · LAD · RP

2026 review

Charlie Barnes was a reliever whose season showed up more on the transaction wire than on the mound: across CHC and LAD he posted a 6.92 ERA and 1.85 WHIP in 13.0 IP over 5 games, with a 9.5 K% and an 11.1 BB% over 63 BF. He signed a minor league contract with CHC on Jan 26, had his contract selected Apr 12, then was optioned and recalled through April before Chicago designated him for assignment May 6; LAD claimed him off waivers May 9 and cycled him through recalls and options in May and July, a designation for assignment Jul 11, an outright, and repeated minor league signings, selections, and further options and outrights into mid-Aug. Undrafted in NFBC drafts, he finished 958th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank and 481st of 575 relievers. The TDK LABS card tracked the churn throughout: by early May it had him losing his roster spot as the Cubs' bullpen filled out, and by mid-Aug it was still describing him as optioned after a brief big league window, then optioned again to make room for a returning arm before another up-and-down cycle sent him back down.