Barnes earned way onto Nats staff, then stayed there through season

PLAYER REVIEW: JACOB BARNES

Age on Opening Day 2025: 34

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, February 2024

MLB service time: 6 years, 91 days

2024 salary: $740,000

Contract status: Free agent

2024 stats: 8-3, 4.36 ERA, 63 G, 0 SV, 66 IP, 67 H, 36 R, 32 ER, 10 HR, 20 BB, 55 SO, 0 HBP, 1.318 WHIP, 93 ERA+, 4.38 FIP, 0.1 bWAR, 0.0 fWAR

Quotable: “Jacob, who has done really well, he’s pitched in some high-leverage situations. What I love about Jacob is he can give you four or five outs, and he’s done a really good job.” – Davey Martinez

2024 analysis: Jacob Barnes did everything he could to make the Nationals’ Opening Day roster. Signed to a minor league deal in February, the veteran reliever allowed only one earned run in 10 1/3 spring training innings, striking out 15 and walking three. The Nats sent him to Triple-A Rochester, though, where he continued to dominate, with eight scoreless innings and only one hit surrendered.

Three weeks into the season, there was no valid reason for keeping Barnes in the minors any longer. The Nationals called him up, watched him deliver an 0.75 ERA through his first 11 games and never sent him back down the rest of the season.

Barnes went through some rough stretches, most notably in late May (nine runs in five appearances) and early September (11 runs in seven appearances). But he was mostly a steady presence in the bullpen throughout the year, taking on whatever role was asked of him. He typically pitched with the team trailing, often for more than one inning. But he also pitched in some situations of consequence, with 16 of his outings including “high-leverage situations,” per Baseball-Reference. And he wound up earning eight wins, third-most on the club behind only MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin’s 10 wins.

2025 outlook: Barnes officially became a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series. The Nationals have exclusive negotiating rights with him until Monday afternoon, at which point he’s allowed to start talking to other clubs. Given what he did for them this season, the Nats could consider bringing him back, though they may not believe a guaranteed deal is worth the risk and try to convince him to return on a minor league contract.

Barnes basically threw two pitches all season. His fastball, which averaged more than 95 mph, was hit hard at times, with opponents slugging a healthy .500 off the pitch. His cutter, which averaged nearly 90 mph, was a slightly more effective pitch, with opponents slugging .408 but whiffing on it nearly 30 percent of the time. He threw his other pitch, the slider, only 41 times, but allowed only one hit off it. Perhaps it’s worth developing more confidence in it.

Barnes profiles best as a middle reliever. Though he did record at least six outs nine times, he never completed three full innings of relief and never threw more than 34 pitches in one appearance. He still provides some value, but if the Nationals are interested in having more of a true long man in their bullpen next season, they might need to move on from Barnes and acquire someone who can consistently go three-plus innings and throw 50 pitches at a time.