Barlow stepping into veteran leadership role for young A's team

MESA, Ariz. -- Scott Barlow still isn’t used to being labeled a veteran baseball player.

A quick peek around the Athletics’ clubhouse, though, shows exactly why he should be.

The 33-year-old right-hander is kicking off his ninth Major League season as one of the most experienced late-game relievers on the club, having previously spent time in Kansas City (2018-2023), San Diego (2023), Cleveland (2024) and Cincinnati (2025). Barlow has pitched in nearly every situation, recording 536 career strikeouts in 455 1/3 innings.

The reliever has 83 holds and 59 saves, including a career-high 24 with the Royals in 2022. He has a 29-24 record, a postseason appearance against some of the best hitters in baseball and even one career start.

Barlow hasn’t exactly seen it all, and he’ll be the first to tell you that. Even so, his wealth of experience is unquestionably an asset to his fellow relievers, if not the entire Athletics team.

“At heart, I’m still like a 12-year-old that just loves to play, so, it's definitely weird to be put in that category,” Barlow said. “It goes by so fast.”

The Athletics have not designated a closer, which is a role Barlow has played at his previous stops. This spring has been more of a closer-by-committee role for the Athletics, and relievers are still working on finding their niche.

No Athletics pitcher had recorded a save in Spring Training prior to Friday’s game against the Rockies, though Brady Basso and Tyler Ferguson have blown a save this spring. Enter Barlow, who threw his most high-stakes inning with the Reds in the 2025 postseason and he aced his test.

It was a performance for the ages.

Barlow inherited a 5-0 deficit in Game 1 of the 2025 NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers, and his job was to keep the Reds within striking distance. Of course, that’s much easier said than done when considering Ben Rortvedt, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are stepping up to the plate.

Barlow promptly mowed through the Dodgers’ murderer’s row, striking out every batter except Freeman, who lined out to first base.

“Getting in the game in general was super, super awesome, but having the good results made it even more special,” Barlow said. “It's just another game. It sounds cliche and cheesy, but it’s true.”

The right-hander signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Athletics in February, and has appeared in two games this spring. He was perfect in his most recent outing against the Giants on Feb. 28, retiring all three batters he faced.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said he’s not using Spring Training as any sort of barometer for Barlow, who has proven himself multiple times at the big league level.

“He's one of those guys, when the lights come on, there's a different gear,” Kotsay said. “He's experienced it for a long time now.”

Barlow’s arsenal includes a sweeper, four-seamer, slider, curveball and sinker, and though he threw his sweeper the most in 2025 (28%), opposing teams hit just .158 against his curveball. He appeared in 75 games last year, striking out 75 batters while allowing 32 earned runs on 50 hits.

He said he’s specifically focused on two aspects of his game this spring: getting ahead in the count, and not issuing any walks. In his two appearances he has thrown a first-pitch strike nine of 11 times, and he’s yet to walk a hitter.

Of course, off the field, he’s naturally focusing on, well, the things that veteran leaders focus on.

“One of the most important things is trying to be the best teammate possible,” Barlow said. “If anybody needs help, or just wants to go to a fun team dinner, we’ll have a good time, but also segue it into bits and pieces of mental baseball. We can make it productive.”

Spoken like a seasoned pro.

“There’s something to be learned from Scott, but if you ask him, he will tell you he’s still learning himself, and that’s one of the things we really like about him,” Kotsay said. “The confidence that he has from being a part of teams where he's been the closer, he's been a guy that's pitched leverage, I think that's where his comfort comes from."