The Guardians have designated right-hander Scott Barlow for project, based on MLB.com’s transactions tracker. Taking his spot on the 40-man and lively rosters can be left-hander Anthony Gose, whose contract was chosen based on Gose’s MLB.com Participant Web page.
Barlow, 31, was acquired by the Guardians in a commerce with the Padres final November that despatched right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to San Diego. A longtime Royals aid arm who emerged because the membership’s prime leverage arm through the 2021 season, Barlow pitched to a wonderful 2.30 ERA and three.13 FIP in 148 2/3 innings between 2021 and ’22 whereas hanging out 28.2% of batters confronted and racking up 40 saves.
Sadly, he took a step again in 2023 with a considerably uneven season. Whereas his numbers underneath the hood throughout his time with the Royals final 12 months, together with a 26.7% strikeout price and a 4.04 SIERA, supplied loads of motive for optimism, he struggled to forestall runs. He in the end surrendered a 5.35 ERA in 38 2/3 innings of labor earlier than being shipped to the Padres on the commerce deadline. As soon as in uniform with San Diego, Barlow pitched a lot better down the stretch with a 3.07 ERA and three.15 FIP in his remaining 29 1/3 innings final 12 months. That appeared to go away Barlow poised to occupy a significant function with the Padres within the late innings this 12 months, however he was in the end shipped to the Guardians as a part of an effort to slash the membership’s payroll and duck underneath the posh tax for 2024.
That allowed the Guardians to take the chance so as to add Barlow to their already wonderful bullpen, the place he was poised to behave as one of many prime setup males for nearer Emmanuel Clase. For a lot of the season, the right-hander carried out that function admirably with a 3.12 ERA and three.50 FIP in 43 1/3 innings of labor via the top of July. Nevertheless, issues took a pointy flip for the more serious as soon as the calendar flipped to August, and Barlow was shelled to an 8.49 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of labor. The best-hander has appeared misplaced on the mound for over a month now, with a 17.9% strikeout price in opposition to a ten.7% stroll price to associate with three hit batters and two dwelling runs over his final 13 appearances. Because the Guardians look to fend off the Royals and Twins within the AL Central and earn a bye via the Wild Card Sequence this October, the membership felt they couldn’t afford to proceed giving him alternatives to get proper.
Barlow’s departure makes manner for Gose, 34, on the massive league roster. As soon as a top-100 prospect as a hitter with the Phillies, he struggled via 5 seasons within the majors with a below-average .240/.309/.348 slash line in 372 profession video games and finally determined to attempt changing to pitching. He resurfaced within the massive leagues as a reliever in Cleveland again in 2021, impressing with a six-appearance cup of espresso that noticed him strike out 37.5% of opponents and publish a 1.35 ERA. Gose sported a decent 3.90 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 27 2/3 innings of labor as a pitcher for his profession when he underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in September of 2022, and he spent the whole 2023 season rehabbing.
Now again in motion with the Guardians, Gose surrendered three runs in 3 1/3 innings of labor throughout a short cup of espresso earlier this 12 months however has posted a stable 3.27 ERA in 41 1/3 frames on the Triple-A stage. He’ll get one other alternative with the massive league membership down the stretch as he appears to be like to ascertain himself as a viable aid choice for the 2025 marketing campaign, whether or not with Cleveland or elsewhere.
