OC Register: Jaime Barria’s up and down season with Angels ends with shoulder injury

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Jaime Barria’s season ended as a mixed bag.

The Angels’ right-hander was placed on the injured list on Sunday with a right shoulder impingement, although Manager Joe Maddon said he had not gotten any more specific diagnosis about the severity of Barria’s injury. Barria left Saturday’s game after two innings.

Assuming the injury is nothing serious enough to impact next season — which is not a given, considering it’s a shoulder issue — Barria figures to go onto the 2022 depth chart as a candidate for the back end of the rotation.

He earned at least another look based on flashes of promise he showed during the 56-2/3 innings he pitched in the big leagues this season.

“I think he made a really nice rebound,” Maddon said. “He showed some really good things. Other things kind of mediocre but overall I think that the the good outweighs the bad.”

Barria, 25, had a 4.61 ERA, but his ERA as a starter was 3.91. He also gave up 11 earned runs in 11 first innings in his starts, so his ERA was 2.50 after the first inning.

Maddon said Barria’s future looks somewhat promising because of the way he’s improved the usage of his fastball and incorporated a changeup.

“I think he made strides in understanding himself a little bit better, and with that variety of pitches now he can get out both righties and lefties with more certainty or better feel about it,” Maddon said. “I thought he made a lot of progress.”

Even if the Angels have no room in the rotation for Barria next year, he still could have a place in the bullpen, because he’ll be out of options. Being out of options could also make Barria a candidate to be a traded.

It’s unclear who would take Barria’s spot in the rotation for the final week of the season. The Angels have Packy Naughton, Janson Junk and Alex Cobb scheduled to start the three games in Texas, starting on Tuesday.

José Suarez would presumably start on Friday in Seattle, and then the Angels would need a starter for Saturday. It could be Reid Detmers, who is pitching on Monday at Triple-A, or Jhonathan Diaz, who worked seven innings in relief of Barria on Saturday.

If Shohei Ohtani does not pitch the season finale next Sunday in Seattle, Detmers or Diaz could be among the options for that game too. The Angels’ choice may hinge at least partly on whether the Mariners have been eliminated from wild card contention.

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NOTES

The Angels recalled left-hander Sam Selman to take Barria’s place on the roster. …

The Angels currently have 41 players on their 40-man roster because right-hander Hector Yan is on the injured list at Class-A Tri-Cities without a designated injury, so he does not count against the limit. Typically that means a player is on the COVID-related injured list.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Packy Naughton, 0-3, 5.23 ERA) at Rangers (RHP A.J. Alexy, 2-1, 5.00), Tuesday, 5:05 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[ukyah]

he pitched as much as a reliever does and he has a shoulder injury. i'll temper my expectations.

[AngelsLakersFan]

2 hours ago, ukyah said:

he pitched as much as a reliever does and he has a shoulder injury. i'll temper my expectations.

"somewhat promising"

[Blarg]

6 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

 

“I think he made a really nice rebound,” Maddon said. “He showed some really good things. Other things kind of mediocre but overall I think that the the good outweighs the bad.”

I never remembered Maddon being such a dick with the constant slights. He has become a pretty tactless talking about his players. 

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

I never remembered Maddon being such a dick with the constant slights. He has become a pretty tactless talking about his players. 

Lol...  Par for the course.  He's shit on players at every stop.  

[Docwaukee]

3 hours ago, Blarg said:

I never remembered Maddon being such a dick with the constant slights. He has become a pretty tactless talking about his players. 

oh this is totally him to a tee.  wait till he starts throwing his coaches and other mgmt under the bus during the off season.  

[Junkballer]

22 hours ago, Blarg said:

I never remembered Maddon being such a dick with the constant slights. He has become a pretty tactless talking about his players. 

#BillyMartinMotivationalCourse

[Jeff Fletcher]

On 9/26/2021 at 8:24 PM, Blarg said:

I never remembered Maddon being such a dick with the constant slights. He has become a pretty tactless talking about his players. 

Really? 
 

I totally disagree with this. I think he’s the other way much more often. 

[Revad]

31 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Really? 
 

I totally disagree with this. I think he’s the other way much more often. 

He’s frustrated I’m sure but seems to be doing what a leader does, which includes speaking to important issues.