Michael Patrick Barrett (born October 22, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player and current catching coordinator for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher and started his professional career with the Montreal Expos at age 18. Barrett spent three years playing in Minor League Baseball as a shortstop and catcher. He played with the Honolulu Sharks, West Palm Beach Expos, and Delmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two Minor League All-Star games. Barrett made his MLB debut in as a third baseman, but was shortly outrighted to the minor leagues to play with the Harrisburg Senators for a season. Upon Barrett's return to the MLB in , he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories. Barrett failed to stay healthy during the season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to the Oakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won a Silver Slugger Award in , and recorded near career-high statistics in season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres in June of . Barrett sustained two major injuries, which caused him to miss 115 games with the Padres, and was subsequently released after the season. Barrett attempted to make a comeback with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, but continued to struggle with injury issues, which led to his release in the subsequent offseason. He spent the second half of the 2010 season in the New York Mets minor league system. Barrett was also a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team at the University of North Georgia. Early years Barrett was born in Atlanta. He attended Pace Academy, where he excelled in baseball. During his senior year, Barrett won Atlanta's Gatorade's Player of the Year, and was named to the All-USA High School and First Team High School All-Americans All-star teams. He was considered to be one of the top draft prospects that year, and declared eligibility for the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft shortly after graduating from high school. Barrett initially signed a letter of intent to play college baseball at Clemson. The Montreal Expos selected Barrett as the 28th overall selection in the draft. He spent the next three years in the minors, playing in the Gulf Coast, South Atlantic, Hawaii Winter Baseball, and Florida State Leagues, during which he