Royals quietly cut ties with former closer after reunion opportunity fell flat on it's face

The Kansas City Royals bullpen struggles this season have been well documented, whether it be the trio of late-inning failures or the overall injury bug that has bitten the corps. That reality has them cycling through old friends and fringe MLB arms with mixed results. Still, even as Kansas City sports one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball, there was not room for the 2026 version of former closer Scott Barlow.

According to the MiLB.com transaction log, Kansas City released Barlow from Triple-A Omaha after signing him back to the organization in July. The 33-year-old righty started the season in the majors with the Athletics but struggled in their home park and posted a career-worst 6.48 ERA in 33.1 innings pitched. After Oakland released Barlow, he returned to the organization where he made a name for himself during his 2018-2023 run with the club.

Unfortunately, Barlow looked like a shell of his former self during his time in Omaha. While his 5.65 ERA was not particularly ugly in the hitter-friendly International League, his 22.4% walk rate and five homers allowed in 14.1 innings pitched were gruesome. It was a steep fall from grace for a pitcher Royals fans were once used to seeing lock down saves with the kind of composure that made the ninth inning feel routine.

Scott Barlow was simply not the reliever Royals fans would've remembered

Barlow still sits seventh on Kansas City's franchise saves leaderboard with 56, trailing sixth-place Kelvin Herrera by just one. Barlow accumulated 24 of those saves in his 2022 season, when opponents hit only .198 against him across 69 appearances. Only one other Royals pitcher appeared in that many games with an ERA lower than Barlow's 2.18 that year: franchise peak legend Wade Davis back in 2014.

During his time in Kansas City, Barlow appeared in 277 games with a 3.39 ERA and 1.252 WHIP. His 10.7 K/9 in that body of work is second-best among qualified Royals relievers, trailing only Greg Holland's 11.5 mark set across his 394 appearances. Barlow was one of the Royals' standout players during some forgettable seasons, but the Royals traded him away after he lost the closer job to free agent Aroldis Chapman in 2023, and he has been largely a serviceable journeyman reliever since.

The control issues and dip in velocity raise serious red flags about whether Barlow is a viable MLB reliever anymore, and his inability to catch on with the Royals is a damning indication. Perhaps Barlow can find a foothold with another contending team ahead of the postseason roster deadline and catch fire once again when the lights shine brightest.

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