A’s Release Scott Barlow

The Athletics have released veteran reliever Scott Barlow, per their transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.

Barlow signed with the A’s on a one-year, $2MM deal back in early February. His time in green and gold did not go well. Barlow pitched 33 1/3 innings with a career-worst 6.48 ERA over 36 appearances. His 19.1% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. His 12.5% walk rate was the third-worst of his career and marked the right-hander’s fourth straight season with a walk rate of at least 11%.

Although Barlow’s strikeout rate was down, his 13.8% swinging-strike rate and 67.7% opponents’ contact rate were both quite strong. League-average in those two categories currently sits at 10.8% and 77%, respectively. That could give a new club some optimism that he’s only a few tweaks away from returning to his previously above-average strikeout rates; from 2018-25, Barlow fanned 27.8% of his opponents and never dipped below 24.8% in a given season.

Barlow isn’t the only pitching acquisition to struggle in the Athletics’ new hitter-friendly environment in West Sacramento (and, more briefly, their own Triple-A stadium in Summerlin, Nevada). However, he might be the most extreme example of it. Barlow served up a catastrophic 12.64 ERA in 15 2/3 innings at home compared to a near-immaculate 1.02 ERA in 17 2/3 innings on the road. He allowed seven homers in his 33 1/3 innings with the Athletics. Six came while pitching in either West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park (four) or Las Vegas Stadium (two).

Barlow had a brief but fairly dominant peak with the Royals in 2021-22, when he combined for 148 2/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball with 40 saves, a 28.2% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate. He settled in as more of a serviceable middle reliever/setup man thereafter, rather than an imposing endgame final boss. From 2023-25, he posted a 4.28 ERA with 16 saves, 42 holds, a 26.3% strikeout rate and an ugly 13% walk rate.

The A’s will remain on the hook for the rest of Barlow’s $2MM guarantee, meaning a new club would only be required to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster. Given the 33-year-old’s track record and this year’s colossal home/road splits, he ought to get a chance with another club before too long — perhaps even on a big league deal.