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Jacob Barnes

Cardinals Select Jacob Barnes, Place Matthew Liberatore On IL

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The Cardinals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Barnes. In a corresponding move, left-hander Matthew Liberatore lands on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, due to lower back tightness. There was already a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Barnes, 33, has bounced around the league quite a bit, both this year and in his career overall. Things started out fairly steady, as he was drafted by the Brewers, debuted with them in 2016 and stayed until partway through the 2019 season. But from 2019 to the present, he’s become a valuable Immaculate Grid choice, suiting up in the big leagues for the Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Tigers and Yankees.

This year, he’s yet to pitch in the majors, jumping to the Rangers, Phillies and Cardinals on minor league deals. Between those three organizations, he’s thrown 51 Triple-A innings, allowing 2.47 earned runs per nine frames. His 20.4% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are both subpar, but he’s kept the ball on the ground more than 40% of the time at each of his three stops. In his major league career, he has a 4.70 ERA over 252 appearances but with his best results farthest in the past. He had a 3.54 ERA from 2016 to 2018 but a 5.39 mark since then.

The Cardinals made a number of subtractions from their pitching staff at the deadline, sending out Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks as part of their selloff. That’s led to some innings going to younger pitchers like Liberatore, Drew Rom and Zach Thompson, but they’ve also brought aboard some older guys like Casey Lawrence and now Barnes to supplement the staff. Barnes is out of minor league options but could be retained for 2024 via arbitration if the Cards like what they see out of him in the next few weeks.

As mentioned, Liberatore has been getting a chance to seize a job in the rotation but hasn’t quite succeeded thus far. He has a 6.06 ERA in 84 2/3 career innings to this point. The Cards are hoping to add three starters to their rotation this winter, though they could always alter those plans if they felt Liberatore or one of the other internal options took a step forward. Unfortunately, his audition will now be put on pause for at least two weeks as he deals with this back issue. The rotation now figures to consist of Rom, Thompson, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright.

Cardinals Sign Jacob Barnes To Minor League Contract

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The Cardinals have signed righty Jacob Barnes to a minor league deal. He made his organizational debut with Triple-A Memphis this evening, tossing 1 2/3 innings of middle relief.

Barnes is on his third minor league deal of the season. He signed with the Rangers and made 13 appearances for Texas’ top affiliate. Barnes posted a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings but didn’t have particularly strong strikeout and walk numbers. The Rangers released him in late May and he caught on with the Phillies a week later.

The 33-year-old spent around six weeks in the Philadelphia system. He allowed 11 runs (seven earned) in 13 innings before being released last week. Between the two clubs, he owns a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 Triple-A frames. Barnes has a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate against a roughly average 9.3% walk percentage.

Barnes has yet to reach the majors this season but got to the highest level each year between 2016-22. He had a solid three-year run in Milwaukee to start his career. Going back to the start of 2019, Barnes owns a 6.37 ERA in 102 big league outings across seven teams.

St. Louis signed veteran righty Ryan Tepera to a big league contract a few days back. Barnes won’t get an immediate roster spot as Tepera did, but the Cards could clear some bullpen space over the next couple weeks. Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton are each impending free agents on a team turning its attention towards 2024. They appear likely to be moved by August 1.

Phillies, Jacob Barnes Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies are in agreement with veteran reliever Jacob Barnes on a minor league contract, tweets Matt Gelb of the Athletic. Philadelphia also released Louis Head from a non-roster pact of his own.

Barnes joins his second organization of the season. The right-hander inked a non-roster deal with Texas over the winter. He pitched 13 times for their top affiliate in Round Rock, working to a 2.21 ERA across 20 1/3 innings. That was built on the back of a strong 52.3% ground-ball percentage but belied a modest 17.5% strikeout rate and slightly elevated 10.3% walk percentage. Texas never gave him an MLB look and released him last week.

Not too long thereafter, Barnes finds a new landing spot in search of an eighth straight season with some MLB action. An effective middle innings arm with the Brewers early in his career, the 33-year-old has fallen on tougher times of late. He’s posted a 5.50 ERA or higher in each of the past four seasons. That includes a 5.64 mark over 22 1/3 frames between the Tigers and Yankees last season. Barnes had more success in Triple-A and averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball at the MLB level, though, so it’s little surprise he’s gotten a number of looks as a depth option.

Philadelphia’s bullpen entered play Tuesday ranked 16th in the majors with a 4.11 ERA. They’re ninth in strikeout rate (25.5%) but have the game’s eighth-highest walk percentage (10.3%). Barnes is out of minor league options, so if he cracks the MLB mix at any point, the Phils would have to keep him on the big league club or designate him for assignment.

As for Head, he spent the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley after signing a minor league deal over the winter. He was tattooed for 14 runs in 11 2/3 innings there, walking 15 batters and allowing four home runs. It’s hardly surprising the Phils never called him up given those struggles. Head tossed 28 2/3 MLB frames between the Marlins and Orioles last season. He goes back to free agency in hopes of finding an opportunity to right the ship.

Rangers Release Jacob Barnes

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The Rangers have released veteran right-handed reliever Jacob Barnes, per the league transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock but will now be free to sign with any club.

Barnes, 33, posted good results with the Rangers organization, logging 20 1/3 innings of 2.21 ERA ball during his time with their Round Rock club. He turned in a strong 52.3% ground-ball rate and 0.44 HR/9 mark, although his 17.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both more concerning.

A former 14th-round pick (2011), Barnes debuted with the Brewers in 2016 and was a mainstay in their bullpen for three seasons, compiling 147 1/3 innings of 3.54 ERA ball with a quality 24.4% strikeout rate against an elevated 9.9% walk rate. His results fell off in 2019, however, and he’s bounced around six big league rosters since leaving Milwaukee (Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees). Dating back to 2019, Barnes has a 6.37 ERA in 101 2/3 frames, thanks largely to a hefty 1.59 HR/9 mark.

While Barnes has struggled with the long ball, he was averaging 95.4 mph on his heater last year, generally keeps the ball on the ground at an above-average rate (career 49%) and has frequently shown the ability to generate strikeouts at average or better rates. Barnes’ career 23.3% strikeout rate is a bit higher than the 2023 league average (22.7%), and his career 13.1% swinging-strike rate is two percentage points above the 11.1% league-average mark. In three separate seasons, he’s run that swinging-strike rate just shy of or even in excess of 15%, suggesting the potential for a well above-average strikeout rate.

It’s been a few years since Barnes has had big league success, but this year’s 2.21 ERA in Triple-A would be his highest of the past three seasons at that level. Between that run of upper-minors success, the league-wide need for bullpen depth and Barnes’ combination of velocity, whiffs and grounders, he ought to find another opportunity in his return to the open market.

Rangers Sign Jacob Barnes To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced four minor league deals today, with three of them being the previously reported deals for catcher Sandy León as well as right-handers Kyle Funkhouser and Zack Littell. The fourth deal is with right-hander Jacob Barnes. All four players will receive invitations to major league Spring Training.

Barnes, 33 in April, is a veteran that has appeared in the big leagues in each season since 2016. However, the 2022 campaign was strange for him in a couple of ways. For one thing, he bounced around quite a bit. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers and made their Opening Day roster. He was designated for assignment in June and signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. The M’s selected him to their roster in July but designated him for assignment the next day without Barnes getting into a game. That was followed by another minor league deal with the Tigers, a release, a minors deal with the Yankees, cracking the Yankee roster in October, getting into a single game before being designated for assignment yet again.

Amid all those travels, he had an odd split in his strikeouts. Coming into 2022, he had punched out 24.4% of batters faced in his major league career. But last year, it was just 12.4% in 22 1/3 big league innings but a huge 32.9% rate in 18 Triple-A frames. Those diminished strikeout totals in the majors led to a 5.64 ERA on the season.

Strange year aside, Barnes has appeared in 252 MLB games to this point in his career with a 4.70 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 49% ground ball rate. The club’s projected relievers on the 40-man roster are all in their 20s, though 32-year-old Jake Odorizzi could wind up in the bullpen as a long man. Aside from him, José Leclerc is the only other reliever to have surpassed four years in service time. If Barnes can crack the club’s roster, he no longer has options, meaning he would have to retain his spot or else be given the DFA treatment again. If he manages to hang on through the end of the season, the Rangers would have the option of retaining Barnes for 2024 via arbitration.

Which Remaining Free Agent Relievers Are Coming Off The Best Seasons?

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The offseason floodgates opened this month, with an avalanche of free agent activity once the Winter Meetings got underway. Things have quieted down in recent days thanks to the holidays, but clubs are likely to again get back to attacking the free agent market in earnest this week.

Most of the winter’s top names are off the board, leaving teams to mostly look through lower-cost options as they search for upgrades on the margins of the roster. There are still a number of experienced options available, particularly for teams seeking to round out the bullpen. Using MLBTR’s free agent list, we find 47 pitchers who tossed at least 20 innings out of a team’s bullpen in 2022 and remain unsigned.

We’ll sort the remaining free agent relievers by various metrics of 2022 performance to identify some of the top arms. There are obviously other factors for teams to consider — quality of raw stuff, pre-2022 track record, the player’s injury history, etc. — but a brief snapshot on the top bullpen arms by last year’s performance should provide a decent starting point for players teams might target moving forward. (All figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as relievers).

ERA (league average — 3.86)

  1. Matt Moore (LHP), 1.95
  2. Alex Young (LHP), 2.08
  3. Matt Wisler (RHP), 2.23
  4. Wily Peralta (RHP), 2.72
  5. Brad Hand (LHP), 2.80
  6. Andrew Chafin (LHP), 2.83
  7. David Phelps (RHP), 2.87
  8. Ralph Garza Jr. (RHP), 3.34
  9. Jackson Stephens (RHP), 3.38
  10. Michael Fulmer (RHP), 3.39

Strikeout rate (league average — 23.6%)

  1. Daniel Norris (LHP), 30%
  2. Darren O’Day (RHP), 27.7%
  3. Andrew Chafin, 27.6%
  4. Matt Moore, 27.3%
  5. Aroldis Chapman (LHP), 26.9%
  6. Steve Cishek (RHP), 25.8%
  7. Chasen Shreve (LHP), 25.4%
  8. Will Smith (LHP), 24.9%
  9. David Phelps, 23.9%
  10. Noé Ramirez, 23.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.5 percentage points)

  1. Andrew Chafin, 19.8 points
  2. Daniel Norris, 19 points
  3. Darren O’Day, 17 points
  4. Chasen Shreve, 16.7 points
  5. Steve Cishek, 16.4 points
  6. Craig Stammen (RHP), 15.7 points
  7. Will Smith, 15.3 points
  8. Matt Moore, 14.8 points
  9. Ross Detwiler (LHP), 14.8 points
  10. Luke Weaver (RHP), 13.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 43.5%)

  1. Luis Perdomo (RHP), 62.5%
  2. Joe Smith (RHP), 57.5%
  3. Alex Young, 55.7%
  4. Alex Colomé (RHP), 55.6%
  5. T.J. McFarland (LHP), 53%
  6. Craig Stammen, 52.6%
  7. Garrett Richards (RHP), 52.4%
  8. Bryan Shaw (RHP), 51.8%
  9. Andrew Chafin, 51.3%
  10. Jacob Barnes (RHP), 50.7%

FIP (league average — 3.86)

  1. Luke Weaver, 2.46
  2. Alex Young, 2.65
  3. Matt Moore, 2.98
  4. Andrew Chafin, 3.06
  5. David Phelps, 3.11
  6. Garrett Richards, 3.16
  7. Jackson Stephens, 3.45
  8. Michael Fulmer, 3.57
  9. Brad Hand, 3.93
  10. Darren O’Day, 4.04

Innings Pitched

  1. Matt Moore, 74
  2. Caleb Smith (LHP), 69
  3. Steve Cishek, 66 1/3
  4. Michael Fulmer, 63 2/3
  5. David Phelps, 62 2/3
  6. Hunter Strickland (RHP), 62 1/3
  7. Will Smith, 59
  8. Andrew Chafin, 57 1/3
  9. Bryan Shaw, 54
  10. Jackson Stephens/Hirokazu Sawamura (RHP), 50 2/3 each

13 Players Elect Free Agency

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With the World Series kicking off on Friday, we’re only a couple weeks from the opening of the offseason. It’s customary each offseason for dozens of players to hit the open market, separate from the players who reach MLB free agency at the end of the World Series based on the expiration of their contracts while having six-plus years of MLB service time.

Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of MLB service, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minor leagues has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group falls under that umbrella. The majority will take minor league deals over the winter, although one or two could find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

In recent weeks, we’ve provided periodic updates on players qualifying for minor league free agency. Here are the latest, courtesy of the MiLB.com transactions tracker.

Pitchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Outrights: Shaw, Barnes, Ogando, Liberato

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A few players on postseason teams have cleared outright waivers after recently being designated for assignment.

  • The Guardians have outrighted reliever Bryan Shaw to Triple-A Columbus, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. While the veteran has more than enough service time to elect free agency while still collecting the remainder of his guaranteed salary, Tom Withers of the Associated Press tweets that he’ll accept the assignment. Shaw remains in the organization and could technically factor into the playoff mix as a result, but it’s unlikely he’ll do so after Cleveland took him off the 40-man roster. Re-signed to a one-year deal over the winter, the veteran righty soaked up 58 1/3 innings across 60 appearances. He’s long been a durable bullpen workhorse, but his 2022 results were disappointing. Shaw posted a 5.40 ERA with a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate against an elevated 10% walk percentage. Cleveland will owe the 34-year-old a $500K buyout on a 2023 club option, and he’ll head to free agency at the start of the offseason.
  • Yankees reliever Jacob Barnes has gone unclaimed and been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. It was a quick turnaround for the righty, who was promoted for his team debut on Saturday. He threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings but was immediately DFA as the club cycled through fresh arms at the back of the bullpen. Barnes had a tough run earlier in the season with the Tigers, allowing a 6.10 ERA across 20 2/3 frames. He’s previously been outrighted and has more than enough service time to refuse the minor league assignment, although he could choose to follow Shaw’s path and stick in the organization as a depth option. He’ll hit free agency at the end of the year regardless if not added back to the 40-man roster.
  • Rays righty Cristofer Ogando was outrighted to Triple-A Durham over the weekend, per his MLB.com transactions log. The 28-year-old reliever has garnered a pair of brief looks with Tampa Bay, his first taste of MLB action. Ogando has made three big league appearances, working 4 1/3 innings of two-run ball. He’s spent the vast majority of the season in Durham, serving as a multi-inning bullpen arm and compiling a 4.56 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk percentage over 53 1/3 frames. Tampa Bay has outrighted Ogando off its 40-man roster twice this season, giving him the right to refuse this assignment in favor of free agency.
  • Padres outfielder Luis Liberato also went unclaimed on waivers last week, according to the transactions tracker. He’s been assigned to Triple-A El Paso. Signed to a minor league deal last offseason after ten seasons in the Mariners system, the left-handed hitter spent most of his year in El Paso. He had an impressive .261/.354/.541 showing over 99 games there, briefly earning his first major league call last month. Liberato only tallied five hitless at-bats with the Friars before losing his 40-man roster spot, however. He’s never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse the assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization for the time being. That’s largely immaterial, as he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season unless added back to the 40-man roster in the intervening time. Liberato’s quality work with the Chihuahuas should land him a number of minor league offers this winter.

Yankees Select Chi Chi González, Designate Jacob Barnes

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The Yankees announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, selecting right-hander Chi Chi González to the active roster while designating fellow right-hander Jacob Barnes for assignment. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Matt Carpenter was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

González, 30, has bounced around quite a bit this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins in March and briefly cracked the big league roster. After getting designated for assignment, he was claimed by the Brewers and spent just under a month with them before getting designated again. He signed a minors deal with the Tigers but opted out of it without getting a call to the big leagues, then signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in late August. Through all of that, he’s thrown 18 1/3 innings at the big league level with a 6.87 ERA. He’s fared much better in the minors, throwing 80 1/3 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.

As for Barnes, 32, he’s had a fairly similar season to González, getting brief tenures on various rosters around the league. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the winter, cracking the Opening Day roster but getting designated in June. He then signed a minors deal with the Mariners and joined their roster but was designated again without making an appearance. He went back to the Tigers but was released and signed with the Yanks at the same time as González. He was selected to New York’s roster just yesterday and pitched 1 2/3 innings of mop-up duty while they were beating the Orioles 8-0. He’s thrown 22 1/3 total MLB innings this year with a 5.64 ERA but, similar to González, has been more impressive on the farm. In 18 minor league innings this year, he has an ERA of 2.00, along with a 32.9% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. Since he’s out of options, the club had to designate him for assignment in order to get a fresh arm onto the roster.

As for Carpenter, this move is mostly a formality. He will be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was August 9, meaning he can return October 8. The Yanks already secured a bye through the first playoff round and will be playing in the ALDS beginning October 11. It was recently reported that the club plans to get him some at-bats with Double-A Somerset before returning to the big league club. Prior to fracturing his foot, he was having a comeback season for the ages, hitting 15 home runs in 47 games and slashing .305/.412/.727. The club will have the next week or so to decide if he’s healthy enough to earn a spot on their postseason roster.

Yankees Select Jacob Barnes, Place Zack Britton On 60-Day IL

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2:56PM: Though Britton’s season is over, his time in New York could continue, as ESPN’s Marly Rivera reports that “Britton and the Yankees are already engaged in preliminary conversations” about a new contract.

10:59AM: The Yankees announced they’ve selected reliever Jacob Barnes onto the major league roster. In a corresponding move, veteran southpaw Zack Britton has been placed on the 60-day injured list. His season is over after he left last night’s appearance with shoulder fatigue.

Barnes cracks a major league roster with a third different team of the 2022 campaign. The 32-year-old broke camp with the Tigers and pitched in 22 games, working to a 6.10 ERA through 20 2/3 innings. Barnes only struck out 11.2% of batters faced on a personal-worst 7.7% swinging strike percentage. Barnes did induce ground-balls at a career-best 51.5% clip, but the lack of swing-and-miss led the Tigers to designate him for assignment in June.

The veteran reliever signed a minor league deal with the Mariners and briefly made the major league roster in July. He spent a few days on the active roster but didn’t make an appearance before being let go. Barnes returned to Detroit on a minor league deal, spent a month in Triple-A and then was granted his release. He signed a minor league deal with New York at the end of August and pitched in ten games for their top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

While Barnes hasn’t had much major league success this season, he’s pitched 18 innings of 2.00 ERA ball at the Triple-A level. Barnes has punched out 32.9% of opponents there against a 9.2% walk rate, and he’s missed plenty of bats at the big league level in years past. He punched out upwards of 30% of opponents with the Angels in 2020 and had an above-average 25.8% strikeout rate as recently as last season.

Because Barnes was in the organization by August 31, he’d be eligible for the Yankees postseason roster. He wasn’t on the 40-man roster at the end of August, but New York can still petition the commissioner’s office for him to be playoff-eligible as an injury replacement for Britton. Injury exemptions are a common occurrence each season, so the Yankees shouldn’t have an issue carrying Barnes for the playoffs if they desire. Now that he’s back on a 40-man roster, Barnes is technically arbitration-eligible for next season, but it’s probable the Yankees will take him off the roster at the end of the year and allow him to hit minor league free agency.

It seems unlikely they’d carry Barnes given his struggles at the big league level this year, but the Yankees pitching staff is navigating a number of injuries. Closer Clay Holmes has a shoulder strain, manager Aaron Boone revealed last night. New York won’t place him on the injured list and rule him out as an option for the AL Division Series, but he’s not expected to pitch again in the regular season. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays that the Yankees are hopeful Holmes will be ready for the start of the ALDS, but it’s hard to know for sure whether that’ll be the case.

Meanwhile, trade deadline acquisition Frankie Montas doesn’t look as if he’ll be an option for the ALDS. New York placed Montas on the IL with shoulder inflammation two weeks ago, and Boone said this morning that it appears he won’t be ready for the Division Series (Hoch link). Montas is playing catch today and the Yankees haven’t officially ruled him out for the ALDS, but Boone suggested it’s more likely he’d return as a relief option for the ALCS if the Yankees qualify.

Britton is certainly no longer a playoff option, with the 60-day IL placement ending his year. It could bring an unceremonious end to his four-plus year tenure as a Yankee. Acquired from the Orioles midway through the 2018 campaign, Britton was an elite late-game weapon for his first few seasons in the Bronx. He pitched to a 2.14 ERA over 105 1/3 innings through the end of the 2020 season, including grounders at an incredible 76.3% clip. The Yankees preemptively exercised a $14MM option on his services for 2022 at the end of that year to prevent Britton from triggering an opt-out that’d have allowed him to test free agency.

While an understandable move at the time, that decision proved very regrettable in hindsight. Britton was tagged for a 5.89 ERA in 18 1/3 frames last season, battling injury issues throughout the year. He eventually underwent Tommy John surgery last September, an issue that kept him on the injured list until last week. Britton made it back on September 22 and made three appearances, but he walked six of the nine batters he faced before yesterday’s injury.

Britton will hit the open market this winter coming off two virtually lost seasons. His fastball velocity was down in his very brief look this month, and he obviously battled extreme rust from a strike-throwing perspective. The 34-year-old hasn’t seemed fully healthy for two years, which’ll obviously deal a hit to his market value.

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