The Athletics have released veteran reliever Scott Barlow, per their transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.
Barlow signed with the A’s on a one-year, $2MM deal back in early February. His time in green and gold did not go well. Barlow pitched 33 1/3 innings with a career-worst 6.48 ERA over 36 appearances. His 19.1% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. His 12.5% walk rate was the third-worst of his career and marked the right-hander’s fourth straight season with a walk rate of at least 11%.
Although Barlow’s strikeout rate was down, his 13.8% swinging-strike rate and 67.7% opponents’ contact rate were both quite strong. League-average in those two categories currently sits at 10.8% and 77%, respectively. That could give a new club some optimism that he’s only a few tweaks away from returning to his previously above-average strikeout rates; from 2018-25, Barlow fanned 27.8% of his opponents and never dipped below 24.8% in a given season.
Barlow isn’t the only pitching acquisition to struggle in the Athletics’ new hitter-friendly environment in West Sacramento (and, more briefly, their own Triple-A stadium in Summerlin, Nevada). However, he might be the most extreme example of it. Barlow served up a catastrophic 12.64 ERA in 15 2/3 innings at home compared to a near-immaculate 1.02 ERA in 17 2/3 innings on the road. He allowed seven homers in his 33 1/3 innings with the Athletics. Six came while pitching in either West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park (four) or Las Vegas Stadium (two).
Barlow had a brief but fairly dominant peak with the Royals in 2021-22, when he combined for 148 2/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball with 40 saves, a 28.2% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate. He settled in as more of a serviceable middle reliever/setup man thereafter, rather than an imposing endgame final boss. From 2023-25, he posted a 4.28 ERA with 16 saves, 42 holds, a 26.3% strikeout rate and an ugly 13% walk rate.
The A’s will remain on the hook for the rest of Barlow’s $2MM guarantee, meaning a new club would only be required to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster. Given the 33-year-old’s track record and this year’s colossal home/road splits, he ought to get a chance with another club before too long — perhaps even on a big league deal.
