Los Angeles Angels Acquire Barry Enright from Arizona Diamondbacks

They may not have James Shields yet, but the Los Angeles Angels did bring in one new pitcher lately: On July 23, they acquired starter Barry Enright from the Arizona Diamondbacks for future considerations.

To date, the 26-year-old has spent his entire 2012 campaign with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team, the Reno Aces. Despite going 8-6, he has a 5.87 ERA in 21 starts.

Arriving in the major leagues in 2010, the right-handed twirler initially experienced considerable success. Through his first-12 starts, he was 6-2 with a 2.45 ERA, limiting opponents to a .299 on-base percentage.

It appears that the 6’ 3”, 220 lbs hurler’s early success can be attributed to an unwitting league not used to his stuff, however. Once the circuit caught up to him, things turned ugly, fast.

With flaming red hair and a colorful nickname to match—Barry the Red’s fall back to Earth was quick and painful as he went 0-5 with an 8.06 ERA and a .314 batting average in his final five starts, finishing the year 6-7 with a 3.91 mark overall.

He returned to the Diamondbacks in 2011 and experienced an equal lack of success, going 1-4 with a 7.41 ERA in seven starts before being sent back to the minors.

Will he be the cog the Angels need to bolster their pitcher staff and guarantee them a spot in the playoffs come October? No, not likely. But he will bolster the Angels’ minor league depth chart and may be a useful emergency fill-in if one of the team’s main starters gets injured.

Based on his past success, he is not a terrible backup to have.