The Padres are “actively trying to move” right-hander Scott Barlow in trade talks with other teams, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The arbitration-eligible Barlow is projected to earn $7.1MM in 2024, and with Friday’s non-tender deadline looming, the Friars are seeing what they can get for the reliever before having to make a decision on his roster status.
Barlow didn’t make MLBTR’s recent list of non-tender candidates, though it stands to reason that San Diego might consider cutting the 30-year-old entirely if they can’t find an acceptable trade. While losing Barlow for nothing is obviously not an ideal outcome for the team, it would represent some noteworthy savings for a Padres club that is reportedly aiming to get their payroll to around the $200MM range in 2024, down from $249MM last season. The $7.1MM price point could also be high for other teams, yet non-tendering Barlow altogether is still a somewhat unlikely outcome given the probable interest in his services, not to mention the fact that Padres could still shop him after Friday.
This will be Barlow’s third and final trip through the arbitration process before hitting free agency next winter, and the righty’s salaries have been elevated by the saves accumulated when he was the Royals’ closer in 2021-22. Barlow posted a 2.30 ERA, 40 saves (in 50 chances), a 28.2% strikeout rate, and 8.4% walk rate over 148 2/3 innings in those two seasons, earning a reputation as one of baseball’s more underrated relievers. It also made him a popular trade candidate, though Barlow wasn’t actually dealt until Kansas City sent him to San Diego at the last trade deadline, and a case can be made that the Royals didn’t sell at the high point of Barlow’s value.
Over 38 2/3 innings with K.C. in 2023, Barlow’s ERA spiked to 5.35, in large part due to a walk rate that surged to 12.5%. The downturn cost Barlow his closer’s job, and the Padres’ trade package of pitching prospects Jesus Rios and Henry Williams is certainly less than what the Royals would’ve received had they moved Barlow last offseason. The move to San Diego seemed to turn Barlow’s fortunes around, as he cut back on the walks and delivered a 3.07 ERA over 29 1/3 frames in a Friars uniform.
All in all, Barlow finished with a 4.37 ERA over 68 total innings in 2023, with a 3.94 SIERA and a pretty impressive overall set of Statcast numbers, except for his mediocre walk rate. Concerns over his control still exist, and Barlow’s average fastball velocity has dropped from 95.4mph in 2021 to 93.1mph in 2023, though his straight four-seamer has become only his third-most prominent pitch over the last two seasons. Still, teams eager for bullpen help could certainly have interest in Barlow’s services, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see a trade completed prior to Friday.
If Barlow was moved, of course, it would leave another hole in the Padres’ bullpen. Josh Hader, Nick Martinez, and Luis Garcia are all free agents, leaving Robert Suarez as the top closing option and Barlow as the top candidate for set-up work. The Padres could perhaps pivot to exploring only lower-cost options on the reliever market, though that puts extra pressure on the front office to make up those lost innings with some hidden-gem type of acquisitions.
Wouldnt mind if the orioles picked him up. Might end up being cheaper than someone like Neris. The prospect cost would also be minimal. Os need another high leverage arm in the pen and they might be able to fix him so that he gets back to previous form.
Not for $7.1MM. I’d rather bring Fuji back and try to work on him some more. Neither has good control. Fuji still has top notch velo and will cost a third of the price.
Good teams spend money. It’s time the Orioles started acting like a good team.
And smart teams spend money on good players. So not Barlow
The Orioles are so smart their biggest free agent get last year was Kyle Gibson.
Barlow is a good player. The Orioles lost Batista.
It’s time to play in the deep end of the pool Orioles.
Barlow isn’t the deep end of the pool. More of an expensive Brian Baker.
Career ERA 3.36
Career FIP 3.29
Has closing experience
One year of control left
He makes perfect sense for the Orioles in 2024. Except for the fact that he makes real money….
Bullpen wise
I’d sign 2 of Jarlin Garcia, Wendy Peralta, Brett Suter, Andrew Chafin, Aaron Loup, Matt Moore to join Cosgrove as lefties in the pen. Should be actively trying to trade Morejon too. Tim Hill is likely cut and Kerr just hasn’t shown me enough to be reliable.
I’d bring back old friends Kirby Yates and Phil Maton. I’d also take a flier on Funjinami as a relief option.
Jarlin Garcia couldn’t lift a baseball for awhile last year. And didn’t pitch one inning of pro ball. So I would eliminate him off your list.
That bad huh. I knew he missed the 2023 season but figured he’d be healthy for 2024. Guess not.
Loup sounds good in theory but has been mostly bad for two years.
More cost cutting even though the ostriches say it is not true.
At best. Padres are going to spend near the 1st tax penalty line.
At worst. They just slash payroll significantly and go with pre arb guys.
I think they fall somewhere in the middle.
People hate it. But I’d trade Soto for cheap cost controlled players. Sign Lee out of South Korea. Sign Kim to an extension.
Defense and pitching gets you pretty far.
Losing 9-8 vs winning 3-2 Ls are Ls and Ws are Ws no matter how you get the job done.
Seems like an okay price point for what he is but not a whole lot of trade value. Maybe they get a borderline 40 man/rule 5 risk type for him today.
Lottery tickets and those are the types preller actually excels at to some extent.
Edward Olivares
Estuery Ruiz
Chris Paddack
Enyel De Los Santos
Fernando Tatis Jr
Pedro Avila
Jake Cronenworth
Were all lottery ticket types at time of trades.
I think teams can do really well in a trade motivated by the 40 man crunch decisions today.
Red Sox plz
Preller most overrated GM in baseball, amazing he still has a job.
@tom as a lifelong padre fan in my 40s I completely disagree. He has brought an excitement to the team and the city that we never had. He’s made some mistakes, sure, but this is unquestionably the most talented roster the padres have ever had. People act like the sky is falling, but remember we only finished 2 games behind the diamondbacks and didn’t have our platinum glove phenom to start the season. Not to mention the unexplainable anomaly of losing ALL extra innings games. It was a weird season.
It’s also the biggest payroll they have ever had by a large amount. Preller took a blank check and best farm system in baseball and created a mess.
Wasn’t preller’s in game decisions resulting in 0-12 extra inning games
Wasn’t preller that got Nola, Musgrove, Pomeranz, Suarez, Wacha, Lugo etc injured.
Preller has his faults. But 2023 wasn’t a gm problem.
All those one run and extra inning losses can be directly attributed to Preller. The front end of the lineup was stacked, the back end was horrible. Add that the ridiculous contracts handed out, especially in length to older players. AJ is an exceptional scout but has no business being a GM. Keep him head of Baseball Operations but move him off GM>
Excitement is fun but it needs to come with a plan and one that can be executed year after year. Signing Bogaerts was stupid and irresponsible.
Only thing stupid was the cost he’s a very good player
He’s too old to give a 11 year contract and adds to the Padres inflexibility of payroll in 2024.
Padres apologist, he literally has had 1 good year and yall all like he’s God’s gift. Guess what Chaim Bloom also took his team to CS and red Sox realized their mistake and cut him.
BTW, my Rays lost our cy young contender, 2 out of our other 4 SPs and a star SS and still nearly won 100 games in much a tougher division. But keep apologizing for Preller
And after all that, still only managed to play a couple of more games than my underachelievers. In the end, only one team triumphs and it was neither of us…
He’s ok. Just set the Barlow on any potential returns with his trades.
You spelled Brian Cashman wrong
Their in the same boat
Their what is in the same boat?
Their thems are crawlin up and inta yarrr boat.
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Yarp.
He is not a 7.1MM pitcher
Would be a great waiver wire pickup for any team, though, as long as you didn’t have to offer him arbitration.
NTs become free agents no waiver claim, they are unemployed arbitration only applies if tendered a contract
It would be nice to get rid of his contract. He had a couple of nice games where he shut the opponent down. But the rest of the time he was walking people and getting lit up.
He is a Ranger.
He does not suck
The Padres are probably not going to have a good 2024 season, they are making too many changes. Specifically, with the pitching staff.
And in other news, water is wet!
Who would not want to pay $7 million for a reliever with a mid fours ERA!?
Though i see the upside with Barlow, there’s no way he’s worth $7.1 MM after the year he just had. I think if the Padres cant find a trade they’re better off non-tendering him.
Man..the pitching staff is in shambles. AJ better hit it big this off-season. By my count, they need at least 3 starters, and 4 bullpen arms.
Wrong. Shortstops. More Shortstops.
LOL @ Padres and Mets fans a year ago thinking their teams would be relevant for the next decade because “the owner will just keep spending”. How’s that working out for you?
Good baseball teams are not built by grabbing headlines. I don’t know how long it will take AJ Preller to figure that out, but he hasn’t yet.
Pretty much. I try not to hate on other teams and their fans but good gosh I don’t like these teams that try to buy a championship.
Because the Yankees won 27 world series penny pinching and playing money ball…
The Yankees have 1 championship in the last 20 years.
Not totally true though, at least for the mets. They’re willing to spend to try to stay competitive and lock up mid career guys, and then build the farm. Definitely more of the dodger approach of the 2010s. Talk to me in three years, and i bet they’re doing well. They did win 101 in 2022, don’t forget that.
Padres did well in 2022, and frankly looks like they were just unlucky in 2023 not winning close games. There was a lot of talent there, but just didn’t perform consistently. Their farm seems pretty strong too, and being able to spend helps to win, cant deny that.
The Padres sold the farm and increased payroll to levels that they simply can’t support long term.
Yes spending helps. But it needs to come with a plan.
I don’t think people understand what the term “all in” means in baseball. The Padres were all in. And when you do that there comes a time to go all out. And that time is coming for them soon.
Agree, but it looks like their farm is still strong. MLB had them top 10 at end of season, and both MLB and BA have them w five in the top 100. Tatis is locked up long term, machado and bogaerts may not have been the smartest deals, but they’ll provide plus value for a few more years. They could get a nice return for soto. They have some pieces where they can still build for the future, at least it looks that way to a non-fan like me.
Yeah the farm system is doing alright considering all the deals they made. They could trade away a few more guys this offseason and keep it going for a year or 2. But there comes a time to pay for what you get. And that time is coming for the Padres. Soon.
Padres have a top ten farm system, puts puts them in top third.
He’s not worth anything. The Padres are better off coming to a contract at maybe $5M. At $7.1M, you are better off throwing in another $2-3M and getting a set-up level RP.
I thought Barlow would take over for Hader as closer in 2024. If that wasn’t the plan why trade for him?
Teams often buy low on guys hoping they regain their form, change of scenery. In Barlow’s case Padres gave him an audition hoping to see 2021-2022 Barlow. They clearly didn’t like what they saw in 25 games so they cut bait.
He had an ERA and FIP barely over 3 while in San Diego.
The Padres are a mess. It makes no sense to shop Barlow. He should be the replacement for Hader. If you trade Barlow and don’t sign Hader who is closing games in 2024 for the Padres?
Suarez. Who was signed to a big extension last off season.
He also walked 12 guys, gave up 23 hits in 29.1 innings.
similar criticism put at Preller when he shopped Taylor Rogers in trades. We didn’t know it was to acquire Hader at the time. So let this play out?
Dude 35 base runners in 29 innings isn’t bad. Especially when 12 of them are walks because the runners don’t advance when yoh walk a guy.
He did EXACTLY what the Padres hoped he would do he returned to his career norm which is a quality big league reliever.
You think they are shopping Barlow so they can go get a better reliever?
Lol
“Especially when 12 of them are walks because the runners don’t advance when yoh walk a guy.”
Wait. You seriously don’t think runners advance when you walk a guy? If a guy is on 1st and you walk a guy where do you think that runner goes exactly? Hint: there’s not 2 runners on 1st.
Nah…someone else can have him. He wasn’t even the closer when he left KC.
If a runner is on 2b and you walk a guy where does that runner go?
Walks are not the same as hits. And like I said 35 base runners in 29 innings IS NOT BAD!!!
Not what you originally said.
“Especially when 12 of them are walks because the runners don’t advance when yoh walk a guy.”
Walks are situational. To blanketly say walks don’t advance a runner is inherently false.
They are trading him because they believe they have better options for $. Also, lol back at ya….Padres have a track of putting together top 5 RP staff in MLB
Year after year past 10 years.
I have the perfect trade partner – send him to Red Sox for verdugo. 2 players no one wants and then we won’t have to read another article about either one of them lol
Blue Jays should be in on Barlow and find out who else the Padres want to deal outside of Soto.
Much, much bigger Friar fish to fry at the moment given the terrible loss of Peter Seidler.
Very true my man
Any relation to Kissin’ Kate?
Barlow for tyler oneil. Benefit both teams. Cards clear an outfielder, get bullpen help. Pads trim some payroll and get an outfielder and can trade Grisham.
Sorry to hear about Seidler. What’s next for the Pads? Yard Sale?
Traded back to kc for nick pratto, flipped before the deadline again.
If Barlow is a final piece, $7.1 is fine. Not fine if he’s one of the pieces needed.
With the Padres in mourning, I wonder if ops may be affected where they lose the edge on dumping him via trade and choose to DFA instead.
When they trade Soto and they will, package Barlow and whatever salary dump players they want to unload. Maybe a trade partner that misses out on their plan to sign Ohtani. would be all in on Soto. Line the trade up and get the blessing of Boras for an extension before the deal is done. Soto is going to be darling runner up to Ohtani.