Blue Jays re-sign former reliever

The Athetlic's Mitch Bannon - the newest full-time Blue Jays reporter - was the first to report the news.

Barnes was designated by the Blue Jays over the weekend, after allowing five runs in his last appearance against the Seattle Mariners. He had initially rejected an outright appearance and elected free agency.

Barnes, who also pitched for the Blue Jays in 2021, signed a minor league deal with the team in February, ultimately breaking camp with the team the last day of spring training.

While he had some good appearances for the Blue Jays, he also had some rough ones, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and a trio of walks through eight innings. Sandwiched between his first and last outings - where he gave up multiple runs, were three consecutive scoreless appearances.

The Blue Jays pitching depth is suddenly thinner then expected and re-signing Barnes keeps another option in the fold.

Barnes has bounced around the league during his ten year career. In addition to his two stints with the Jays, he has suited up for eight other teams, his longest stint coming with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2016-2019. He has managed to stick with one team for each of the last two seasons, playing for the Cardinals and Nationals respectively.

Barnes is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA this season.