The Los Angeles Angels have been playing without both of their catchers, but Logan O'Hoppe is about to return.
The Los Angeles Angels are perilously thin at catcher right now, but they should be getting help soon with Logan O’Hoppe heading off to a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League after breaking his write, according to a report from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
The fracture is small, according to Bollinger, and O’Hoppe has been able to catch off a machine, hit on the field and run the bases with no issues. He’ll play in a game tonight, then take the field for several more before potentially returning on Friday for the Angels’ upcoming home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I'm excited about that,” manager Kurt Suzuki said about the catcher’s return. “I'm excited to see Logan get back into it again. I know he's excited -- he came up to me and told me that. He said, "I'm going to be back soon and ready to go." So that's exciting.”
The Angels are hoping that O’Hoppe can overcome his early struggles when he returns. The timing of the injury was especially unfortunate given that O’Hoppe said he was just starting to feel like himself at the plate after posting an early slash line of .205/.323/.256 with a homer, a double and eight RBIs in 26 games.
“I feel like the last series in K.C. was the time when everything was starting to click,” O’Hoppe said. “I had some deep flyouts, was catching the ball really well. So that was the frustrating part of it. So I've been breaking some things down with [catching coach Max] Stassi, but nothing too in-depth because I don't want to overthink myself into any holes. So I'm just going to work on getting healthy before then.”
O’Hoppe added that he still feels slight discomfort while swinging, and certain glove movements produce a similar effect. One thing he and the Angels will be looking for during his rehab is to have those nagging issues disappear completely.
“He's going to play more than one,” Suzuki said. “I'd like him to get a couple games in just to test that hand and make sure that everything's good. I wouldn't rule anything out, but I'm assuming Friday would probably be the safe bet [for him to return].”
The Angels have been using Sebastian Rivero and Omar Martinez behind the plate with backup Travis d’Arnaud also in the IL with plantar fasciitis, and both are good defensive options. Neither one hits much, though, so their presence creates a hole in the lineup. Many were projecting an All-Star level season for O’Hoppe, but he has a lot of work to do to get anywhere near that level.