"I hope Devin plays every day," Barnhart said. "But you don't know. I'm preparing to be able to play every day, if need be."
A hip injury limited Mesoraco to 23 games behind the plate, including nine starts. In June, he had season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in the left hip. Brayan Pena moved up and started a team-leading 84 games at catcher, with Barnhart picking up 67 starts.
The Reds and Mesoraco expect that he will be 100 percent recovered when pitchers and catchers report to camp Feb.