Tai Baribo had a symbolic role in the Union’s loss, in more ways than one

If you’ve been wondering why Tai Baribo hasn’t played yet for the Union this year, you got an answer on Tuesday night.

The coaching staff thinks so little of the striker that he was used as a procedural chess piece in the Union’s resumed game against Seattle on Tuesday — just to get someone else on the field.

With Markus Anderson injured, the goal was to get Julián Carranza on to the field as quickly as possible. Manager Jim Curtin didn’t hide that in his remarks on game-day eve.

But because Carranza wasn’t on the original March 9 game night roster, the Union first had to bring in one of that night’s bench players (at no penalty), then use a substitution to remove that player and send Carranza in.

Curtin chose Baribo to receive the honor. Or really, the dishonor.

» READ MORE: Union’s wild second-half comeback falls short in 3-2 loss to Seattle Sounders

The rules allowed the Union to make the substitution before the game resumed. Not only did they do that, but they were able to structure it so Baribo didn’t even walk out with the rest of the players in the game he was subbed out of. Carranza did.

In fact, Baribo didn’t even participate in pregame warmups. He watched the game in street clothes from a suite. And public address announcer Kevin Casey didn’t announce the substitution, instead naming Carranza in the “starting” lineup.

Curtin knew before the game that he’d catch heat for this, especially if the Union lost.

“Could we have picked somebody else, and it would maybe have just been less of a hot-button issue? For sure,” he said afterward. “But going into [the] game, we wanted to start Julián for sure. So someone was going out, because we wanted to put our best guys against a good Seattle team.”

Right on cue, the Union lost, 3-2. So here’s the heat.

» READ MORE: How MLS’s resumption rules impacted the postponed Union-Sounders game

The Union paid a $1.5 million transfer fee to sign Baribo from Austrian club Wolfsberger last August, and his salary is $701,000. He has played — as in, actually played — just six games here, and none since last September.

And if a pregame entertainment video on the big screen Tuesday at Subaru Park is any indication, the team hasn’t even told him the name of its mascot, Phang, yet. Maybe it was an act, but it was a symbolic one he claimed to not know.

Baribo’s absence is easily explained: Curtin doesn’t like his practice habits, and he isn’t alone among the Union’s staff.

But as awful as the first half was — Dániel Gazdag called it “the worst half we’ve played since I’ve been here” — the second-half comeback posed its own problem. As the Union rallied to within one goal, and even as Carranza put an 85th-minute header off the crossbar, they once again badly needed anybody other than Chris Donovan to provide an attacking spark.

Is Baribo, who scored 37 goals in two seasons for Wolfsberger, really that far down the Union’s depth chart?

» READ MORE: Why Dániel Gazdag is fully deserving of the Union’s all-time scoring record

“I want to win, guys, and it’s hard to become a starter for this group. It really is,” Curtin said. “Tai’s worked hard, he’s been professional, but we’ve chosen to go with other guys. … Unfortunately, the decision went against him.”

A few words later, he let the real truth out: “Yeah, right now Chris is ahead of him.”

Curtin insisted it’s not personal with Baribo, and that’s easy to believe. The manager has almost never held it personally against any of his players. But he also usually finds a way to make the point when he doesn’t want to play someone.

“Is it fair? No,” Curtin said, “but at the same time, you know, it was a decision that we made, and one that we live with.”

The Union haven’t given up on Baribo entirely, as frustrated as they are. His contract runs through next year, with an option for 2026. But the reason he really matters is that he was bought as the immediate replacement for Carranza when he’s sold.

» READ MORE: Union goalkeeper Andre Blake’s plan to ‘push through’ in his continued return to full form

I said when, not if, intentionally. Anyone following this team, especially from the outside, has to assume the Union will try one last time to cash in on Carranza before his contract expires after this year.

It would be stunning if he stays longer, because it will dent his chances of making Argentina’s 2026 World Cup team. Carranza won’t do it from MLS, but if he goes to Europe now and makes an impression, the door will likely open.

So why not give Baribo a chance to boost his confidence and show what he’s got with some playing time? Can he really be that much worse than Donovan and Jeremy Rafanello, especially when Anderson is out?

The danger in benching a player for too long is that you dent his confidence, and a downward spiral results. That happens with managers all the time, and to Curtin’s credit, it hasn’t happened with him too often.

» READ MORE: The Union want to expand Subaru Park, but know it won’t be easy: ‘We want to be better, bigger’

It has happened one notable time recently, though: Joaquín Torres last year. After a strong start to the 2023 season, Torres fell down the depth chart, and Curtin had similar criticisms of his practice habits.

Eventually, Curtin needed someone to do something late in the season to save his team in the playoffs. So he finally got over it and sent Torres on at New England in the second game of the first-round series. Torres delivered, and Curtin looked good for the decision.

Curtin knows this, and he knows the dynamic that’s going on with Baribo. Perhaps he also knows how to fix it: with the manager giving the player another shot, even if it isn’t fully earned in practice.

If Baribo does get some playing time and doesn’t look good, that will be that. Until then, we won’t know. And even though Curtin has more evidence than we do, he knows why everyone else is wondering.

“He’s going to continue be a pro, work hard,” he said. “Everyone’s voice grows, though, when we don’t win, and that’s a reality that I’ll have to deal with. I understand that and respect it.”