Angels IF Franklin Barreto to undergo Tommy John Surgery

The Angels announced that infielder Franklin Barreto will undergo Tommy John surgery, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com was among those to report. He’ll miss 10 to 12 months as a result.

This is another disappointing development in the career of Barreto, a 25-year-old who hasn’t lived up to the considerable hype he received as a prospect. Barreto was a key part of the package the Athletics received from the Blue Jays for superstar third baseman Josh Donaldson going into the 2015 season, but he was never able to establish himself in Oakland. While Barreto did appear in the majors with the A’s in each season from 2017-20, he hit just .180/.210/.360 over 219 plate appearances.

Barreto’s time in Oakland came to an end when it traded him to Los Angeles for infielder Tommy La Stella last summer. The Angels were surely hoping Barreto would benefit from a change of scenery, but that hasn’t been the case yet. He totaled 18 PA as an Angel last season and hit .118/.167/.118, and elbow problems will prevent him from playing at all this year. Considering Barreto is out of minor league options, his Angels future looks rather iffy at this point.