You have all been asking for a free agent acquisition; now you have one. The Reds have signed Brian Barton.
Barton is an interesting guy. Most important to me, he has gotten on base everywhere he’s played, and his defense is reported to be pretty good in the outfield. He’s the kind of guy I could see sticking with the Reds as a fifth outfielder (or better), and could really help the club off the bench. At the least, it’s organizational depth, which the Reds can use (if you recall the outfield injury debacle last September).
When I say he’s interesting, though…well, suffice to say there’s no one in the Reds clubhouse like this guy (with a tip of the cap to RR):
The … Los Angeles native attended the University of Miami on an academic scholarship paid for by Boeing and majored in aerospace engineering. Barton, who has one semester of coursework remaining before he completes his degree, walked on to the university’s elite baseball program and eventually led the Hurricanes squad to an eighth-place finish in the College World Series his junior year and batted a team-high .371 as a senior.
Aerospace engineering? Very impressive.