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After 'hectic week,' new Marlins reliever Matt Barnes ready for next chapter of MLB career

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on

Published in Baseball

It’s safe to say that Matt Barnes has had, to use his words, a “hectic week.”

It started with the veteran right-handed pitcher getting designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, the organization with which he had spent his entire career that includes a World Series win and an All-Star nomination and a move he said was a “complete blindside” in the moment.

It continued with a trip to Las Vegas for a wedding that he called a “blessing in disguise” and a chance to “let loose” while he waited in baseball limbo.

And it ended with him finding out he was being traded to the Miami Marlins while at the Las Vegas airport waiting hour a five-hour flight delay.

Quite eventful, indeed.

Now that he has had the chance to wrap his head around the move — Miami acquired Barnes and cash considerations Monday from the Red Sox in a trade that sent Richard Bleier to Boston — Barnes is ready for the next stage of his MLB career as he heads into Season 10 as a big league but Season 1 not wearing a Red Sox uniform.

 

“On to new chapters now,” Barnes said Tuesday.

Barnes has had some big moments in his career. The 19th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, he made his MLB debut in September 2014, was part of the Red Sox’s bullpen in 2018 when they won their most recent World Series and was an All-Star in 2021 when he became Boston’s primary closer.

But then he had a bout with COVID-19 shortly after the 2021 All-Star Game followed by a shoulder injury at the start of 2022 and went through what was arguably the worst stretch of his MLB career.

Barnes’ final 17 games of 2021: A 9.26 ERA over 11 2/3 innings.

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