The Athletics aren’t making headlines with splashy free-agent signings this offseason, but they are putting together a quietly effective blueprint for the future-and it’s starting to take shape. The club has locked in two of its most promising young players, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom, to long-term deals, securing seven years of team control over a pair of ascending talents. That’s the kind of foundational move that doesn’t always dominate the news cycle but can pay off in a big way down the road.
But it’s not just about securing the future-the A’s are also making smart, low-risk moves to stabilize the present. Their latest addition is a veteran bullpen arm who brings both experience and upside: Scott Barlow.
Barlow, 33, is joining Oakland on a one-year, $2 million deal that also includes up to $1.3 million in performance bonuses. It’s a classic value signing-low cost, potentially high reward-and exactly the kind of deal that makes sense for a team looking to shore up its bullpen without breaking the bank.
Barlow’s coming off a solid 2025 campaign with the Cincinnati Reds, where he posted a 4.21 ERA over 75 appearances. That’s not elite closer material, but it’s more than serviceable for a middle reliever or setup man. He also contributed 0.7 bWAR last season, a respectable figure for a reliever logging that kind of workload.
What’s intriguing about Barlow is his track record. Before his stint with the Reds, he split time between the Guardians and Padres, posting a 4.25 ERA in 63 games with Cleveland and a stronger 3.07 ERA in 25 appearances with San Diego. That stretch showed flashes of the pitcher he was during his best years in Kansas City.
And those Royals years? That’s where Barlow really made his mark.
Over six seasons in Kansas City, he compiled a 3.39 ERA across 277 games. His peak came in 2021 and 2022, when he was one of the more reliable relievers in the American League.
In 2021, he put up a 2.42 ERA in 71 games, and followed that with an even stingier 2.18 ERA in 69 outings the next year. That’s the kind of production that turns heads-and while he hasn’t quite matched that level since, the potential is still there.
For the A’s, this is a savvy depth move. Barlow brings veteran presence to a bullpen that could use it, and if he can tap into even a portion of his Kansas City form, Oakland will have landed a bargain. He doesn’t need to be the guy he was in 2021 to make an impact-he just needs to be a steady, reliable arm who can eat innings and help bridge the gap to the late-game options.
With a young core starting to take shape and a few smart additions like Barlow bolstering the roster, the Athletics are building something. It’s not flashy, but it’s fundamentally sound-and in a long 162-game season, those are the moves that often make the difference.