Guardians designate former Royals pitcher for assignment after rough stretch

It appears the Cleveland Guardians have seen all they need from reliever Scott Barlow. Cleveland designated Barlow for assignment ahead of Sunday's series finale in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, bringing former outfielder turned relief pitcher Anthony Gose back into the fold.

This was a move that was less about Gose's abilities and more about the less-than-stellar performance they received from Barlow this season. Acquired from the San Diego Padres in the offseason in exchange for Enyel De Los Santos, Barlow was expected to be a lockdown reliever at the back end of Cleveland's bullpen and potentially a fill-in closer should a need for one arise due to performance or injury. Unfortunately, Barow was not able to recapture his previous success during his time with the Kansas City Royals.

In 63 appearances for Cleveland this season, Barlow had a 4.25 ERA, 1.364 WHIP, and 11.1 strikeouts per nine. Aside from strikeouts, these are all worse than his career averages in ERA (3.49) and WHIP (1.264). Now, no one was expecting Barlow to be elite by any means, but they were also expecting some level of serviceability, and it became quite clear that this possibility was no longer on the table.

Since the beginning of August, Barlow has been getting lit up by opposing batters, allowing a .255/.375/.447 slash line in 11.2 innings with 12 runs allowed (11 earned) on 12 hits, including two home runs. Barlow also walked six batters during this time compared to 10 strikeouts. This is far below the minimum expectation for Barlow, and it is no wonder why Cleveland decided to designate him for assignment at this time. Barlow became a liability on the mound, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to justify his spot in their bullpen, and that justification could go no further. It was worth giving Barlow a shot in their bullpen, but the time has clearly come for this arrangement to come to an end.