On Sunday, Angels manager Phil Nevin told reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic, that catcher Logan O’Hoppe has a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder that will require surgery. The 23-year-old catcher is expected to miss four to six months, potentially putting his season in jeopardy.
O’Hoppe was acquired by the Angels at the trade deadline last season in the deal that sent outfielder Brandon Marsh to the Phillies. A consensus top-50 prospect in the sport entering the 2023 season, O’Hoppe earned the Angels’ starting catching job out of camp this season despite having just five games of big league experience under his belt. The youngster was off to an impressive start this season, with a .283/.339/.547 slash line across 16 games that was good for a wRC+ of 142.
Losing such a productive bat for most, if not all, of the the season is a massive blow to the Angels, who have largely seen their offense struggle outside of superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, with only O’Hoppe and outfielder Hunter Renfroe posting an above average wRC+ so far this season among the rest of the club’s offense.
In addition to losing O’Hoppe’s bat, the Angels now find themselves without either half of their usual starting tandem, as Max Stassi does not appear to be close to a return from the hip ailment that sidelined him at the start of the season. Until Stassi returns, the Angels figure to use Matt Thaiss, who opened the season as the club’s third catcher, and journeyman Chad Wallach behind the plate.
Neither of those options inspire the same confidence that O’Hoppe would, as Wallach sports just a 59 wRC+ in 274 career plate appearances since his MLB debut with the Reds in 2017, while Thaiss only began catching in 2021 and has a career wRC+ of 81 in 298 plate appearances.
Given the worrying situation behind the plate for Anaheim, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the club explore external catching options to supplement their current group. Robinson Chirinos and Austin Romine are available on the free agent market, while Gary Sanchez and Jorge Alfaro are among the catchers with significant big league experience who are on minor league deals in other organizations.
