Angels News: Did the Halos Find Their Answer for the Sixth Starting Pitcher Role?
The Angels have been looking for someone to fill their sixth starting pitcher role all offseason long. Earlier in the offseason, manager Phil Nevin said that the team would increase Shohei Ohtani's workload in 2023, pitching him every time he's on full rest. However, the team also made it clear that they still wanted to have a six-man rotation, and only had five trustworthy starters with the addition of All-Star LHP Tyler Anderson.
However, last week at spring training, Nevin clarified that the team actually feels good about the rotation, and wants to have the sixth starter be more of a swing guy, someone that could pitch both as a starter or in long relief.
So, that basically took them out of the running for another starting pitcher, and the San Diego Padres' addition of RHP Michael Wacha pretty much took all the good external options off the market, anyway. So, the Angels were clearly planning on filling it internally.
The Angels do have options for who could fill that role, between Griffin Canning, Chase Silseth, Jaime Barria and Chris Rodriguez, among others. However, Barria recently caught up with The Athletic's Sam Blum, and made it clear that he wants that spot.
"(The front office) did tell me there was an opening for the sixth spot," Barria said, "and they know I’m capable of doing it. ...
"I know if I’m able to get a chance at it, and do the work, I feel like I can keep that spot."
Barria came up as a starter with the Halos, starting all 26 games he played in 2018. He spent a majority of his time as a starter in 2019, 2020 and 2021, before moving to a full-time reliever role in 2022.
He did have his best season last year in his relief role, finishing with a 2.61 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 35 appearances (79.1 innings). However, he mostly played as a long reliever, which could make him the perfect candidate to play that swing role.
We likely won't have an answer on who will play this role soon, but it's definitely one of the biggest storylines to watch out for at Angels camp this spring.
