Why Detroit Tigers reliever Jacob Barnes is back in camp, with a chance to make team
LAKELAND, Fla. — Jacob Barnes entered the Detroit Tigers' spring training complex Friday with plans of driving to Triple-A Toledo, where he was supposed to begin his 2022 season.
Then, the Tigers changed his schedule.
Barnes, a 31-year-old right-hander, returned to MLB spring training Friday, four days after being reassigned to minor-league camp. He is expected to stick around until the Tigers' make their final roster decisions.
"We wouldn't bring him back unless there was an opportunity for him to make our team," Tigers manager AJ Hinch said Friday. "Some of it is where our bullpen structure is, and some of it is the timing was really messy."
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Triple-A Toledo has its opener set for Tuesday, while the Tigers don't have Opening Day until April 8. Players in MLB camp who aren't competing for big-league jobs — Ryan Kreidler, Jack Lopez and Ryan Lavarnway — are packing their bags and traveling to Toledo on Friday afternoon.
As for roster construction in the bullpen, there are six pitchers competing for four spots, assuming the Tigers carry 10 relievers: Barnes, Jason Foley, Rony Garcia, Will Vest, Drew Hutchison and Chase Anderson.
Foley and Garcia are frontrunners to break camp with the Tigers, so that seemingly leaves four relievers competing for two openings: Barnes, Vest, Hutchison and Anderson.
"You always want an opportunity," Barnes said. "They told me I'm actually still in the mix, and they aren't for sure what's going to be the end result. I would rather be here than driving there (to Toledo). Opportunity is great. That's all we ever want. I'm looking to take advantage of it."
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Barnes has pitched parts of six MLB seasons for five teams, most recently in 2021 for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. He posted a 6.28 ERA with 11 walks and 33 strikeouts over 28⅔ innings in 29 relief appearances.
He has allowed seven runs across four innings in spring training, along with four walks and six strikeouts.
"He handles left-handed hitters, which is key, with his cutter," Hinch said, "and he has a major-league look to him when it comes to how he conducts himself and how he handles himself with the pressure he's been under over those years."
There's another reason the Tigers brought Barnes back to MLB camp.
An extra bullpen job could appear soon.
Andrew Chafin to miss Opening Day?
Six of 10 bullpen jobs are locked in for Opening Day: Gregory Soto, Michael Fulmer, Andrew Chafin, Jose Cisnero, Alex Lange and Joe Jimenez, with Foley and Garcia on track to make the team.
But Chafin might miss the beginning of the season. The 31-year-old left-hander has been sidelined since Wednesday with a groin injury.
"I'm not certain what's going to happen with him," Hinch said. "We have a short spring, and then you shorten the spring even further with a tweak, that's not a recipe for comfort. ... We have concern that the right thing to do is making sure he's ready for the season, and that might not align perfectly with the start of the season."
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If Chafin is unable to join the Tigers' 28-man roster, three spots open for four pitchers: Barnes, Vest, Hutchison and Anderson. This is the situation if the Tigers carry 10 relievers, Chafin misses the start of the season and Foley and Garcia make the squad.
The Tigers signed Chafin to a two-year, $13 million contract in March. He felt groin tightness in Monday's bullpen session, then again before his scheduled inning in Wednesday's game.
He was scratched Wednesday.
"We're going to do everything we can to get it fixed as quickly as possible," Chafin said. "I don't know a timeline. I'm just doing what I'm told and doing the best I can with what I got. ... I'm going to take it one day at a time."
Kyle Funkhouser, another high-leverage reliever, will miss the start of the season with a latissimus dorsi strain.
Isaac Paredes optioned
The Tigers optioned infielder Isaac Paredes to Triple-A Toledo.
The 23-year-old hit .208 with one home run, 10 walks and 11 strikeouts in 23 games for the Tigers last season. For the Mud Hens, he had a .265 batting average, 11 homers, 56 walks and 47 strikeouts in 72 games.
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"Just keep playing," Hinch said. "It's not perfectly aligned for him to break with us, which is why we sent him down. He's done everything he needs to in Triple-A. He needs everyday opportunity, and you look around the field, we probably don't have that, certainly as right-handed as we've been.
"I encouraged him to keep doing his part. He's in a rare situation where he gets sent down because we don't think the everyday at-bats are there, but he could quickly come back if an injury happens."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Tigers left Andrew Chafin could miss Opening Day
