Josh Barfield

Joshua LaRoy Barfield

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• High School Klein High School
• Debut April 3, 2006
• Final Game June 25, 2009
• Born December 17, 1982 in Barquisimeto, Lara Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Second baseman Josh Barfield, the son of Jesse Barfield and brother of minor leaguer Jeremy Barfield, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the 2001 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Jimmy Dreyer for $400,000 and began his career with the Idaho Falls Braves, hitting .310/.350/.437. Promoted to the Fort Wayne Wizards the next year, he batted .308/.340/.403 with 105 strikeouts, just 26 walks and 26 steals in 129 games; he was sixth in the Midwest League in average. With the High A Lake Elsinore Storm, he only was 2 for 23 at the plate (.087/.087/.120). Returning to Lake Elsinore in 2003, he hit .337/.389/.530 with 16 homers, 16 steals in 20 tries, 99 runs scored, 46 doubles and 128 RBI, and was named the California League MVP. His walk total improved to 50, though he still whiffed 122 times. He was second to Greg Jacobs in average and led the league in hits (185), total bases (291), extra-base hits (68), doubles (tied with Jayson Nix for the lead) and RBI. After two years of missing All-Star teams due to Scott Hairston, he finally made one. In 2004, Barfield moved up to the Mobile Bay Bears but slipped to .248/.313/.417 with just four steals, though he still clubbed 18 homers and his 90 RBI led the Southern League. The next season, Josh batted .310/.365/.476 for the Portland Beavers; he cut his strikeouts to 70 in 433 at bats, homered 12 times and stole 27 bases.

Barfield made the major leagues in 2006. As the Padres' regular second baseman, he hit .280/.318/.423 with 13 homers and 58 RBI and stole 21 bases in 26 tries. After his rookie year, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown. He started 2007 as the starting second baseman, but lost the job to Asdrubal Cabrera in August. He spent the next two seasons going back and forth between Triple A and the Tribe and was removed from the 40 man roster in August 2009. Josh called it quits after spending the 2013 season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. David Wells was the only big leaguer to play with both Josh and Jesse Barfield.

Following his playing career, he remained active in baseball, first as a scout, and eventually as the Director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks, starting in 2019. he had previously worked as the assistant to Mike Bell and replaced him when Bell, who he considered his mentor, left to work for the Minnesota Twins before passing away from kidney cancer. In September of 2023, he was hired by newly appointed Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz to be his right-hand man as the team's assistant General Manager.

Notable Achievements

• 2003 MVP California League Lake Elsinore Storm

Further reading

• Bill Ladson: "'Baseball lifer' Barfield relishes role in D-backs' front office: Son of Major Leaguer making most of post-playing-career trajectory", mlb.com, February 22, 2022. [1]