Matt Barnes was ‘completely blindsided’ by the Red Sox designating him for assignment
Former Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes said he was “completely blindsided” by the Red Sox decision to designate him for assignment last week. Barnes who spent his entire career with the Red Sox, winning a World Series found out that Boston was moving on from him while at the airport, waiting during a five-hour flight delay.
“On to new chapters now,” Barnes said Tuesday when he was introduced by the Marlins.
That new chapter will hopefully bring Barnes more consistent results. The former UConn standout had an up and down 2022 season.
His first 20 games of 2022 before going on the 60-day injured list for right shoulder inflammation: A 7.94 ERA in 17 innings. “Probably single-handedly the most frustrating and just ‘What’s going on?’ stretch of my career,” Barnes said.
“I go from being an All-Star closer to not making a postseason roster to being terrible for two months then on the IL for another two,” he said. “You went from the highest to the lows in the blink of an eye, it felt like. That’s not easy to deal with, honestly, especially since I felt like it was my responsibility to be the guy at the back end when all else failed.”
Barnes pitched well when he returned from the injured list on Aug. 4 until the end of the regular season. He pitched to a 1.59 ERA and a 2.80 FIP over a 24 game span. Those results gave not only Barnes but fans alike some optimism for the 2023 season.
Boston acquired left-hander reliever Richard Bleier in exchange for Barnes.
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