The San Diego Padres finished their 2023 season in disappointing fashion after a last-ditch effort to reach the postseason. It saw them take their season to the final weekend of the regular season, but ultimately it was too late for them.
They made some moves during the trade deadline to boost their chances, including acquiring relief pitcher Scott Barlow from the Kansas City Royals. He pitched much better with San Diego than he did in Kansas City, and there are those that see him playing a big role for this team next season.
Barlow finished 2023 with an ERA of 4.37 combined, and he became a trusted member of the Padres bullpen down the stretch. He is on the books for next year, but there are some who believe San Diego could look to move on from the veteran.
MLB writer Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report put together a list of players across baseball that could be cap casualties this offseason, and the Padres reliever made the cut.
“Yet even if he was better for San Diego (3.07 ERA) than he was for the Kansas City Royals (5.35 ERA) before coming over in a deadline-day trade, this still wasn't a good year for Scott Barlow. Notably, both his walk rate and his fastball velocity took turns for the worse. Even if the Padres weren't reportedly looking to cut payroll, whether a guy with these red flags is worth $7.1 million would be a fair question.”
Since the Padres are likely to lose reliever Josh Hader this offseason, they could keep Barlow to maintain their strong bullpen. But the team also needs to start shedding some salary, and he is owed a decent amount for next season.
However, $7.1 million isn’t a lot for a guy that the Padres trust in the bullpen. He also knows the system in San Diego after spending the second half with them, so that could see him return as well.
“And apart from his walk rate and velocity, pretty much everything else was fine for Barlow in 2023. He had all sorts of solid metrics, including average exit velocity and a hard-hit rate that both landed in the 96th percentile.”
The Padres likely give him another shot in the bullpen, but he is an interesting one to watch this winter. Nobody really knows what San Diego is going to do, and Barlow should be seen as a wild card at this point.
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