ANGER IN DODGERS CLUBHOUSE AFTER LA DITCH TWO-TIME WORLD SERIES WINNER TO MAKE SPACE FOR TOP PROSPECT
- READ MORE: World Series winner arrested in Miami for aggravated battery
Clayton Kershaw has revealed that many Dodgers players are 'surprised' and 'disappointed' at the team's decision to cut two-time World Series champion Austin Barnes.
Earlier this week, the Dodgers made the shock decision to ditch the veteran catcher and call up highly-rated prospect Dalton Rushing in his place.
Barnes had been with the Dodgers since 2015 and helped Los Angeles secure World Series wins in both 2020 and 2024.
Rushing, meanwhile, is joining an MLB roster for the first time after the 24-year-old spent the first part of 2025 with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers.
He is rated as the top prospect in the Dodgers organization and No 15 in all of baseball, according to MLB.com.
But Kershaw had grown close to Barnes and the pitcher told the Los Angeles Times: 'I think everybody was surprised... it's sad.'
He continued: 'Barnesy's one of my best friends on or off the field... it's sad to see someone like that go who's been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it.
'It's no disrespect to Dalton. I know he deserves it, and he's going to be a great player. It's just, for me personally, I think a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see him go.'
Kershaw continued: 'You won't find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes... he wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years.
'I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks.'
Read more 2025-05-16T18:36:53Z
