WASHINGTON -- The Nationals won their arbitration hearing against reliever Kyle Barraclough, a source told MLB.com on Friday morning. It was the club's second and final arbitration case.
Barraclough will earn $1.725 million after filing at $2 million. It's a relatively small difference between the two sides, but Washington elected to take both Barraclough and outfielder Michael A. Taylor to arbitration this month.
The Nats had not been to arbitration with any player since 2015, but they walked away winners in both their cases this year.
Barraclough, who was in his first year of arbitration eligibility, is coming off a down year in 2018, as his ERA spiked during the second half of the season after he became the Marlins' closer. He finished with a 4.20 ERA and a career-low 9.7 K/9.
But the Nationals saw no drop-off in his stuff, and they are counting on him to bounce back this season. They acquired him from Miami in October for international spending money, and he figures to play a significant role in the Nationals' bullpen, serving as one of the setup men, along with Trevor Rosenthal, in front of closer Sean Doolittle.