OC Register: Angels send Rene Rivera to the DL, making room for Jose Briceno’s debut

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — The Angels placed René Rivera on the disabled list with right knee inflammation on Sunday and recalled catcher José Briceño for his his first time on a major league roster.

Briceño, a 25-year-old from Venezuela, was acquired in the Andrelton Simmons trade in 2015. Briceño had hit .183 in Class-A before the Angels acquired him, so the fact that he reached the majors at all is a positive development. This season he was hitting .261 with six homers in 23 games at Salt Lake City.

“Over the last couple years we’ve seen a young catcher grown from a guy that you would consider a major league skill set of tools to a guy who is refined now to understand what he needs to do to help a pitcher through a game,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

When Martín Maldonado was placed on the bereavement list earlier this month, and the Angels just needed a backup for three days, they called up Juan Graterol. This time, needing a catcher to start a few games, they went with Briceño.

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Briceño was not on the 40-man roster, so the Angels cleared a spot for him by moving Keynan Middleton to the 60-day disabled list.

ALSO

Matt Shoemaker played some light catch before Sunday’s game, the first time he had done so since his throwing program was stopped two weeks ago. Shoemaker said he’s returning to St. Louis to see the nerve specialist again on Monday, but the doctor wanted to evaluate him again after some activity. Shoemaker said he’s hoping that they are getting closer to diagnosing and treating his injury, which has remained something of a mystery…

Blake Wood (elbow impingement) was scheduled to make another rehab appearance for Class-A Inland Empire on Sunday, which would be his second day in a row…

Jaime Barria, who was optioned after a dominant start against the Houston Astros earlier this week, was scheduled to pitch on Sunday at Triple-A. He would be in line to return to the Angels’ rotation on Saturday in New York, the next day they will have an open spot in their rotation.

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