Barraclough removed from closer’s role.
MIAMI — After narrowly avoiding his fourth consecutive blown save Monday night, Kyle Barraclough has been removed from the closer role.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters prior to Tuesday night’s game he’d be giving the struggling reliever some time to get back in rhythm. After blowing his previous three save opportunities, Barraclough entered the ninth on Monday with Miami holding a 2-0 lead over St. Louis. He lasted just 1⁄3 of an inning, allowing two hits, two walks and one earned run.
Mattingly pulled the right-hander with the bases loaded and Javy Guerra quickly induced a gameending double play to secure the win. For the season, Barraclough is 10 of 16 on save opportunities. In his last 15 appearances, Barraclough has posted a 9.95 ERA and has blown four of his past six save opportunities.
“We’re going to give [Barraclough] a day [off ] today and then just work him back in,” Mattingly said. “Hopefully the next inning we go out there, it’s not walking the tightrope with no room for error. Just get him back on track.”
“He feels healthy — [Barraclough’s] been through this. It probably hasn’t been seen the same way, because it wasn’t the ninth. He’s had some stretches over the three years I’ve been here where he’s had some struggles for a period of time. When it’s in the seventh and the game’s not on the line, it’s not noticed as much.”
With Barraclough out of the closer role, Mattingly said they could use multiple relievers in that position. The Marlins skipper added he’d have a better feel following Thursday’s off-day since the bullpen has been overworked as of late with many of their arms needing rest.
“We’ll try to piece it together as we get totally healthy,” Mattingly said. “It’s not going to be one guy. It could be anybody. That’s kind of my early thinking of it.”
Relievers Drew Steckenrider, Adam Conley and Guerra will likely be in the mix for the ninth-inning role.
Prior to his recent struggles, Barraclough was among the best relievers in baseball during May and June. In those two months, he allowed just one earned run in 23 2⁄3 innings and was 7 for 7 on saves. Since then, he’s given up 14 earned runs in10 2⁄3 innings.
“This is not the first time I’ve seen it [with guys having struggles in the ninth],” Mattingly said. “[The role] is a little different from an earlier-inning role. It takes a little different guy and I think [Barraclough] gets that. He’s a competitive guy. From that standpoint, he knows he doesn’t have a net and he understands he’s got a lot more attention and has to talk about it when it’s at the end of the game.”