ANAHEIM — José Ureña tied a record that most players would want no part of Friday night, the new Angels pitcher joining relievers Oliver Drake (2018) and Mike Baumann (2024) as the only players in major league history to play for five teams in one season.
The glass-half-full crowd would view such a flurry of transactions as evidence that five teams wanted Ureña enough to sign him. The glass-half-empty crowd would see four teams that discarded Ureña like a bubble-gum wrapper, the 34-year-old right-hander getting designated for assignment four times in a span of four months.
Ureña? He just wants to stay in one place long enough to unpack his suitcase.
“It’s been a lot,” said Ureña, who has appeared in 14 games for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Angels this season. “Every time I fail, I try to get up and keep moving. I think that’s the main thing.
“You know how this business is, but I’m trying to keep my head clear, and any time I get the opportunity, I just have to go out there and do my part with the rest of the guys.”
Ureña got another shot in Friday night’s series-opening 10-4 loss to the Athletics, and he pitched like a guy who wants to stay in Orange County long enough to take his two young kids to Disneyland.
The 11-year veteran followed struggling starter José Soriano and erratic reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the mound and threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, striking out six and walking none, the lone bright spot on a night Soriano, Zeferjahn and Andrew Chafin combined to give up 10 runs, walk eight and hit a batter.
The Angels trailed 9-4 when Ureña entered, and though they were unable to mount a comeback, Ureña prevented interim manager Ray Montgomery from having to empty his bullpen to cover the final six innings.
“Yeah, it was kind of special in that he’s been in that DFA limbo a little bit,” Montgomery said of Ureña’s outing. “It’s been a while since he’s had the ball, and to give us five innings as quietly and efficiently as he did that, it was really nice to see, a big help.”
Ureña, who has pitched out of the rotation and bullpen, needed only 58 pitches – 43 of them strikes – to breeze through five innings, flashing a lively 96-mph sinker and a sharp 87-mph slider. He also displayed a fiery demeanor and an attacking mentality that caught the eye of – and surprised – Montgomery.
“He’s super laid-back when you’re talking to him, but when he went up the steps and ran out there, he was a little bit different in a good way,” Montgomery said. “He was really focused, almost angry, and I’m all in on that.”
ROSTER MOVE
Zeferjahn was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right-knee tendinitis on Saturday, and right-hander Chase Silseth was recalled from triple-A Salt Lake.
Zeferjahn, who is 6-5 with a 4.77 ERA in 59 games this season, said he injured his push-off knee while running before last Wednesday night’s game in Kansas City.
The right-hander gave up a game-winning homer to Bobby Witt Jr. in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Royals, and he gave up a single, walked two and hit a batter with the bases loaded Friday night.
“You can tell when something is off, everything else is kind off, too,” Zeferjahn said. “We don’t want to be compromised (because of the knee) and have it affect my arm, so we’re just being cautious with it. And if I’m not 100%, I’m not helping the team, either. There’s no reason for them to suffer from me not feeling the best.”
UP NEXT
Athletics (RHP Luis Severino, 6-11, 4.65 ERA) at Angels (LHP Mitch Farris, 1-0, 1.80 ERA), Sunday, 1:07 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM.