Giants claim reliever Kyle Barraclough; Tyler Austin elects free agency

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Since taking over last November, Farhan Zaidi has said repeatedly that he would like to fill the organization with more locals. On Friday, the Giants claimed a hard-throwing right-hander who grew up in Santa Clara before going to St. Mary's College. 

Reliever Kyle Barraclough was claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals and optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. Also Friday, outfielder Tyler Austin cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent. 

Barraclough is another lottery ticket for a front office looking to fill bullpen depth after dealing four relievers at the trade deadline. The 29-year-old had a 6.66 ERA in 33 appearances for Washington but was averaging over a strikeout per inning. 

Barraclough is an interesting project, and he's not far removed from big league dominance. He had a 2.85 ERA for the Marlins in 2016 and posted a 3.00 the next year. Barraclough has struck out more than a batter per inning in all five of his MLB seasons and is averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine for his career. He has had command issues over the years and this season gave up eight homers in 25 2/3 innings for the Nationals.

[RELATED: Why Mets are perfect fit for Panik after leaving Giants]

Barraclough will join former A's reliever Ryan Dull in a revamped Sacramento bullpen. He took the final open spot on the 40-man roster. 

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