Barraclough adds to pitching arsenal

NEW YORK – Kyle Barraclough, already among baseball’s nastiest relievers last season, is looking to throw with greater frequency and effectiveness another weapon: his changeup.

The right-handed Barraclough spent much of the offseason and spring training working on the change, his third pitch, and said he hopes to get to a point where he throws it once per game — at least.

Batters already have to worry about Barraclough’s mid-to-high-90s four-seam fastball and wipeout slider, and those helped him to a 2.85 ERA and 14 strikeouts per nine innings in 2016. Barraclough possessing another reliable offering would make bad news worse for those at the plate.

“Nobody is going up there looking for a changeup from me,” Barraclough said. “So if I can just use it even once a game, use it to my advantage, then that’s all I’m looking for.”

Barraclough threw the pitch not quite 4 percent of the time last year, just 52 changeups overall. In 40 of his 75 games — more than half — he didn’t throw it at all.

He’s looking to change that this season, even if it remains a distant third.

“It’s just more of a pitch that hopefully I can throw more consistently to get me back into counts,” Barraclough said. “If I’m behind 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, I can throw it with confidence and get a rollover or get a bad swing or weak contact or whatnot. That’s all I’m looking for with it right now.”

That’s how Barraclough used a lone changeup in the Miami Marlins’ seasonopening series against the Washington Nationals. On a 1-1 count, Jayson Werth fouled it off to put Barraclough ahead 1-2.

The key is capitalizing on that advantage and finishing the batter off. In this case, Barraclough didn’t, ultimately walking Werth — a sign that his command issues of years past have not evaporated.

That Barraclough went to the changeup there, to a batter with pop late in a tight game, backs up his claims of confidence.

“He’s understanding the pitch. He’s throwing it to the hitter, not to the umpire or the catcher,” pitching coach Juan Nieves said. “When you throw a changeup, a lot of guys try to place it to the catcher. But you’re actually trying to sell it to the hitter. You want him to swing. That’s the terminology I use.”

Injury Updates

Third baseman Martin Prado (strained right hamstring) continues to progress, but could go on a rehab assignment before returning to the Marlins.

“That’s always a dangerous thing with the hammy at this point,” manager Don

Mattingly said. “Guys start feeling good, they start wanting to do more.”

Left-hander Jeff Locke (shoulder tendinitis) has built up to the point that he’s throwing in between bullpen sessions, none of which he has missed.

“When we left spring training, that was basically him starting spring training,” Mattingly said. “I don’t think we look for him in the month of April.”

Barraclough