Through a series of moves, the Los Angeles Angels decided the next step for Logan O’Hoppe after he injured his shoulder in their series with the New York Yankees.
The Angels No. 1 prospect noticed an uncomfortable feeling in Monday’s game, but in the finale on Thursday, he heard a ‘pop’ in his left shoulder after taking a hard swing in the ninth inning. After further testing, the club decided to place him on the 10-day injured list with shoulder inflammation.
In 53 at-bats he’s posted a .886 on-base plus slugging including four home runs, 13 RBI, and six total extra-base hits. To supplement the catcher position behind Matt Thaiss, they called up Chad Wallach, who had been in Triple-A with the Salt Lake Bees.
Without O’Hoppe, the Angels will need the bottom of their lineup to step up and contribute. The rookie catcher was a candidate to move up in the lineup due to his production, but manager Phil Nevin preferred to have him providing length to the lineup with the bottom of the order struggling.
With Jimmy Herget struggling early on in the year, 6.23 ERA through 8.2 innings, they optioned him down to Triple-A and called up Austin Warren to take his spot in the bullpen. Warren hasn’t pitched in Major League Baseball in 2023 but has seven shutout innings in Triple-A with eight strikeouts.
Warren takes over a key role in the Angels bullpen that sorely needs consistency and upside from the right side to bridge the gap to the backend.
The Angels designated veteran reliever Justin Garza for assignment. In 8.1 innings pitched this season, Garza had posted a 4.32 ERA with five strikeouts and four walks.
Angels have confidence in bullpen
Prioritizing both free-agent signings and keeping the best arms in the bullpen are exactly what was needed, and entering play on Wednesday, the Angels possess a top-10 bullpen. From Opening Day through April 18 of last season, their reliever group had a 5.32 FIP, the second-worst in baseball.
But Carlos Estévez, José Quijada, Jimmy Herget, Matt Moore, Aaron Loup, Jaime Barría, Ryan Tepera, Tucker Davidson, and Andrew Wantz have all contributed in their own way.
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