Scott

Barlow

Barlow made 63 appearances for the Guardians this year, and he registered a 4.25 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 55 innings. Not horrible numbers, but not what a small market (cheap) organization is looking for from someone who was making $6.7 million. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if a team made a waiver claim on Barlow, and he’ll likely decline an outright if he isn’t.

Barlow appeared in 63 games for the Guardians and forged a 4.25 ERA while striking out 68 batters in 55 innings. Those aren’t horrible numbers, but a little disappointing for a player making $6.7 million — especially for a small market (cheap) organization. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Barlow was claimed off waivers, and if not, he’ll likely decline his outright to Triple-A.

Barlow got the call to protect a one-run lead in the final frame with Emmanuel Clase presumably unavailable after pitching four of the last five days, including a 25-pitch outing on Sunday in a save against the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old righty figures to pick up the occasional save going forward, but isn’t exactly fantasy-relevant at the moment.

It’ll be fascinating seeing whether the Guardians’ decision to swap Enyel De Los Santos for Barlow and take on an extra $5 million will prove worth it. Unless there’s an Emmanuel Clase trade, Barlow should work the eighth inning this year.

This is rather surprising; Barlow is due at least $6.5 million in arbitration, and he’s lost about two mph off his fastball the last two years. Last season, he had a 4.37 ERA that was considerably worse than De Los Santos’s, and De Los Santos is set to make at least $5 million less. Still, the Guardians obviously think they can turn around Barlow’s fortunes, and they usually know what they’re doing when it comes to pitching. Barlow was one of the AL’s best relievers with the Royals in 2021 and ’22, posting a 2.30 ERA and earning 40 saves in 148 2/3 innings between the two seasons. He’ll be eligible for free agency after next season.

The 30-year-old right-hander was the closer with the Royals, but he’ll slide into a setup role in front of star southpaw Josh Hader at the backend of the Padres’ bullpen. Barlow has registered a 5.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and a 47/22 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings on the season.

No Josh Hader trade is coming, so this makes Barlow droppable on most fantasy leagues, as he should be a setup man in San Diego. Carlos Hernández is probably the favorite for saves in Kansas City, not that the Royals figure to have a lot of late leads.

Barlow walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning. The right-hander still has a 5.35 ERA on the season, but he has a long enough track record of success in the late innings that he remains one of the best high leverage bullpen options available at this year’s trade deadline. He may just lose chances at saves on a new team.

Barlow came on with a two-run lead to protect in the ninth inning and immediately made things more interesting by allowing a leadoff single to Byron Buxton. He got Carlos Correa to hit into a fielder’s choice though before walking Edouard Julien to put the tying runs on base. He then plunked Donovan Solano with a 1-2 pitch to load the bases before rallying to get Max Kepler on a pop out to second base. Jorge Polanco delivered the crushing blow though, with a two-run double to right that tied the game and forced extra innings. It’s Barlow’s third blown save in 15 chances on the season.

Barlow figures to be heavily involved in trade discussions over the next few days prior to next week’s trade deadline, and managed to work around a pair of hits in this one to collect his 12th save of the year. He has an inflated 5.15 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 45/21 K/BB ratio across 36 2/3 innings (36 appearances) this season.