Reliever Jacob Barnes elected free company after being outrighted by the Blue Jays, relays Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. Toronto designated the veteran righty for task over the weekend.
Barnes broke camp after signing a minor league contract in February. He made six appearances, permitting 9 runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and a trio of walks by way of eight innings. He struck out 5. Barnes allowed a number of earned runs in every of his first two outings. He adopted up with three consecutive scoreless appearances however surrendered 5 runs in an inning in opposition to Seattle on Saturday. That wound up costing him his roster spot.
A veteran of components of 10 MLB seasons, Barnes has bounced throughout the league. This was his second stint in Toronto, as he’d additionally made 10 appearances for the Jays in 2021. He has pitched on the MLB stage with 9 groups total. Barnes kicked off his profession with three and a half seasons within the center innings for the Brewers. He hasn’t spent a number of consecutive seasons with the identical workforce since 2019, as a substitute transferring round as a journeyman depth arm.
Barnes did spend all of final season with the identical workforce. He agreed to a minor league cope with the Nationals and made their massive league roster in mid-April. He held his center reduction spot from then on, working to a 4.36 ERA by way of 66 innings. He struck out just below 20% of opposing hitters in opposition to a strong 7.2% stroll fee. He ought to catch on someplace by way of minor league contract within the coming days.