The 27-year-old Barrero, who owns a .497 OPS in 447 major league plate appearances for the Reds from 2020-23, was hitting .299/.396/.517 with four homers in 23 games for Memphis. He will get some starts against lefties, but he’s not being called up to play a ton.

Katie Woo of The Athletic confirms the report and adds that Thomas Saggese will be optioned out to create the spot on the team’s active roster. Barrero has been swinging a hot bat at the Triple-A level, slashing .299/.396/.517 with four homers, 13 RBI and five swipes through his first 23 ballgames. He’s unlikely to see enough playing time to gain relevancy from a fantasy perspective.

The 25-year-old former Reds prospect signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals this off-season and hit .222/.282/.417 in 39 spring training plate appearances with two home runs and three steals. He’ll go down to the minors where he’ll continue to serve as organizational depth.

Barrero got off to a good start in his quest to win one of the backup spots for the Cardinals after being signed to a minor-league deal in November. He’s a former top prospect, but hasn’t shown the offensive ability to suggest he’ll ever live up to that hype at the highest level.