Toronto Blue Jays sign former Washington Nationals reliever

Barnes briefly pitched for the Blue Jays in 2021, garnering a 6.30 ERA across ten innings in ten games for the Blue Jays.

Barnes, 34, will be entering his tenth major league season. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 14th round of the 2011 draft and made his major league debut with the club five years later.

Since the end of his stint with the Brewers in 2019, he has bounced around, pitching for the Royals, Angels, Mets, Tigers, Yankees, Cardinals, and Nationals, in addition to the Blue Jays.

Barnes went 8-3 with a 4.36 ERA in 63 games with Washington last year.

While the numbers haven't always been there for Barnes, he is a workhouse, appearing in a career high 73 games for the Brewers in 2017.

He best season was arguably 2018, when he had a 3.33 ERA and two saves in 49 games with Milwaukee.

While he does have a nearly 20% strikeout rate, his walk rate is 7.2%

Barnes gives the Blue Jays another option for the final bullpen job, though he is probably behind a group of players that includes Ryan Burr, Zach Pop, Tommy Nance, Josh Walker, and the newly-signed Amir Garrett.

Barnes is from St. Petersburg, just outside Tampa Bay, so it shouldn't take him long to arrive at camp.