TODAY: Kim Geun-han of MK Sports (Korean language link) reports today that Barria is ready to sign with the Hanwha Eagles.
May 25: The right hand Jaime Barria is finalizing a deal with the Korea Baseball Organization team, according to MLBTR’s Steve Adams. It is not yet clear which club Barria signed with. Barria is currently with the Guardians on a minor league deal but it is common for clubs to release players to pursue opportunities overseas, usually in exchange for money from the player’s new club.
Barria, 27, signed with the Angels as an international free agent out of Panama and made his major league debut with the club back in 2018 in his age-21 season. The righty enjoyed a solid rookie campaign with a 3.41 ERA and 4.58 FIP across 26 starts for the Halos that year, though he suffered a sophomore season the following season as he pitched to a 6.42 ERA in 19 appearances (13 starts) while running through the bullpen and rotation during the 2019 campaign. Barria would remain in that role for the next two seasons, hitting nearly average results (106 ERA+) in 89 career innings during that time.
The 2022 season saw Barria jump into something closer to a relief role, with one start and five outings in which he threw over fifty pitches. It was perhaps the best season of his career, as he posted an impressive 2.61 ERA that was 54% better than the league average with an ERA+ rating to go along with a 4.11 xERA and 4.13 SIERA, all of which were career-best numbers for a righty. . Unfortunately, things turned around for Barria last year as his home run rate increased, leaving him with a 5.68 ERA and 6.07 FIP in 82 1/3 innings of work in 34 appearances, six of which were starts.
After that difficult 2023 campaign, Barria was released from the Angels roster and elected to free agency, which led to his aforementioned major league deal with the Rangers. He’s been in plenty of relief during his time in Cleveland’s Triple-A club in Columbus, and while his 4.81 ERA in 13 appearances isn’t anything to write home about he’s also shown a surprising tendency to strike out this year, striking out batters at a 28.1% clip across the board. his 24 1/3 career innings.
It’s likely the increased hitting rate that caught the team’s attention overseas, and Barria will now head to Korea in hopes of re-establishing himself as a major league option. Teams in the KBO are only allowed to carry a maximum of two foreign-born hitters on their roster, meaning if Barria’s new team reaches that limit they will have to part with another arm to make room for the righty.
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