Jacob

Barnes

Barnes is back in the fold with Toronto as emergency organizational relief depth back at Triple-A Buffalo. The 35-year-old journeyman right-hander elected free agency earlier this week after passing through waivers unclaimed.

Barnes went unclaimed on waivers after being removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster over the weekend. The 35-year-old righty should be able to latch on somewhere else as emergency relief depth.

Barnes has been removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster to free up a spot for rookie reliever Paxton Schultz. The 35-year-old journeyman struggled in six relief appearances for the Blue Jays after making the club’s season-opening roster.

Both Straw and Barnes will make the Opening Day roster thanks to injuries ahead of them. Barnes may eventually lose his spot to Erik Swanson or Ryan Burr, who were both placed on the IL, and Myles Straw could head back to the minors when Daulton Varsho returns.

All three players were non-roster invitees and will still need to officially be added to the Jays’ roster. A spot opened up for Straw to make it on the decision that Daulton Varsho (shoulder) would open the season on the injured list. Straw made a pretty good case for himself by hitting .400 (12-for-30) with a homer, six RBI and a stolen base in Grapefruit League action. He could wind up being a viable source of stolen bases for fantasy purposes for the week or two that he sees action with Varsho shelved.

The 34-year-old has played for nine seasons as a reliever and mostly recently recorded a 4.36 ERA with the Nationals in 2024. He figures to serve as organizational depth in the bullpen.

Barnes signed a minor league contract with Washington in February and could be a part of the Nationals bullpen to add some depth. The 33-year-old veteran has played for eight other teams during his career, most recently with the Cardinals where he posted a 5.93 ERA, 1.54 WHIP with a 8/3 K/BB ratio across 13 appearances.

Barnes has morphed into a journeyman as he enters his early 30’s and will get a look this spring with the rebuilding Nationals after making 13 relief appearances last year for the Cardinals. The 33-year-old veteran reliever has logged 265 appearances in the majors with eight different organizations since 2016.

Barnes has refused the outright minor league assignment and will become a free agent. The 33-year-old journeyman right-hander spent the final month of the regular season in the majors, making 13 relief appearances for the Cardinals, finishing with a pedestrian 5.93 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 8/3 K/BB ratio across 13 2/3 innings. He’ll likely have to settle this offseason for a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Barnes is back in the majors after signing a minor league contract with the Cardinals last month. The 33-year-old journeyman reliever made 23 appearances last year between the Yankees and Tigers. He’s yet to pitch in the big leagues this season.