10:46am: Barraclough began feeling pain in his forearm after Saturday’s game and will go for an examination Sunday, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post).
10:14am: The Nationals have placed right-handed reliever Kyle Barraclough on the 10-day injured list with “radial nerve irritation,” Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington reports. The club recalled infielder Adrian Sanchez from Double-A Harrisburg to take Barraclough’s roster spot.
Barraclough’s IL placement comes on the heels of his latest brutal 2019 outing, in which he surrendered three earned runs on three hits (including one homer) and a walk during a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Barraclough, who recorded just one out in the game, has now given up multiple earned runs in six appearances since May 12. Thanks in part to tumbling velocity, the ex-flamethrower has stumbled to an ugly 6.39 ERA/6.04 FIP in 25 1/3 innings this year.
Barraclough, to his credit, has fanned 10.66 batters per nine and slashed his walk rate from in the fives over previous seasons to 4.26 this year. However, the ex-Marlin has seen his groundball rate fall to 37.7 percent, down almost 7 points compared to his career mark, and has yielded a lofty 2.49 homers per nine. That’s not what the Nationals had in mind when they acquired the 29-year-old at the outset of last offseason.
Thus far, Barraclough has been one of many problems in a Washington bullpen that has been downright awful. The struggles of the Nationals’ relief unit have played a large role in their dismal 32-38 start.
