The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud, the team announced on Tuesday.
d’Arnaud, 35, is entering his 13th season and the Angels are the fifth team he’ll take the field for. He has previously been with the New York Mets, L.A. Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves. He is perhaps best known for his work with the Braves over the last five seasons.
The veteran catcher was one of the best batters at the position in the shortened 2020 season. He batted .321 with a .919 OPS and won the Silver Slugger Award at the catcher position. He had a down year in 2021, but rebounded with an All-Star 2022 season that saw him post a .791 OPS and 117 OPS+ in 107 games.
He has not been the most available catcher over the course of his career. He has never played more than 112 games in a season and has gone over 100 games in four of his 12 seasons. But that makes him an absolutely perfect fit for the Angels, as he will be backing up Logan O’Hoppe.
O’Hoppe has been extremely available for the Angels, but even a player of his caliber and resilience needs time off. When he does, the Angels have a steady and reliable figure to turn to, one who is above league average in both caught stealing and block figures according to Baseball Savant.
This move solidifies the depth chart at catcher for the Angels, and leaves Matt Thaiss as the odd man out. Expect him to begin 2025 in either the minor leagues or in a different organization with the d’Arnaud addition. And at $6 million this season and next, this shouldn’t prohibit the Angels from making other moves this offseason.
Angels current guaranteed contracts for 2025
This list only includes players that are under guaranteed contracts with the Angels for 2025 with figures that have already been determined. This list does not include any pre-arbitration or arbitration players as their 2025 salaries are yet to be determined. All numbers are via Spotrac.
Anthony Rendon – $38,571,428
Mike Trout – $37,116,666
Jorge Soler – $16,000,000
Tyler Anderson – $13,000,000
Robert Stephenson – $11,000,000
Evan White – $8,000,000
Travis d’Arnaud – $6,000,000
Kyle Hendricks – $2,500,000
This puts the Angels at a total of $132,188,094 prior to their pre-arb. and arb. cases. With those estimates, the Angels should still have a decent amount of room to work with before they reach the implied limit that Arte Moreno has set for the offseason.