Nationals select contract of Jacob Barnes, place Robert Garcia on IL

By MASN Staff

Masn Nationals

April 23, 2024, 4:02pm

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The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jacob Barnes and placed left-handed pitcher Robert Garcia on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to April 21) with influenza on Tuesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, Washington designed infielder/outfielder Jake Alu for assignment. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Barnes, 34, allowed just one hit with 10 strikeouts in 8.0 innings of scoreless relief for Triple-A Rochester. He converted both save opportunities and walked just two batters in seven appearances out of the bullpen. He last pitched on April 19 vs. Toledo (CLE), tossing perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to record his second save of the season.

A non-roster invite to 2024 Major League Spring Training, Barnes posted a 0.87 ERA (1 ER/10.1 IP) with 15 strikeouts, three walks and a .175 opponents’ average (7-for-40) in nine Grapefruit League appearances.

Barnes has appeared in 265 Major League games for eight teams across eight seasons. He has a career 8-17 record with seven saves and a 4.76 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals (2023), New York Yankees (22), Detroit Tigers (2022), Toronto Blue Jays (2021), New York Mets (2021), Los Angeles Angels (2020), Kansas City Royals (2019) and Milwaukee Brewers (2016-19).

Garcia, 27, went 0-1 with a 6.48 with 11 appearances out of Washington’s bullpen.

Alu, 27, did not appear in a game for the Nationals in 2024.