Logan O’Hoppe likely out for 4-6 months
The Los Angeles Angels took a big hit on Sunday when manager Phil Nevin announced that top prospect and starting catcher Logan O’Hoppe will miss 4-6 months with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
The injury was sustained in Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees. O’Hoppe swung at a pitch and ripped it down the line, but was visibly in pain immediately after the swing.
Apparently, O’Hoppe tweaked his shoulder during Monday’s contest against the Red Sox but was deemed good to go. Nevin admitted that the injury was apparent after that game, but doesn’t regret how the team went about playing O’Hoppe, according to Angels beat writer Sam Blum.
“You wait your whole life, and you get here. And you get a taste at the end of last year. Then you work even harder. You get a taste of hopefully what the whole year has in store. I think that’s the toughest part to deal with.” O’Hoppe said to Blum.
O’Hoppe, 23, was excellent for the Angels in the early portion of the 2023 MLB season. In his first season with a full starting role, O’Hoppe was making the most of his time in Anaheim, posting a .283/.339/.547 slash line with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 16 games.
The Angels are in a tough spot. It was players like O’Hoppe that could eventually bring them back into relevance and help retain a player like Shohei Ohtani. Everyone knows that Ohtani’s presence in Anaheim depends on how the Angels perform this season, and losing a player like O’Hoppe doesn’t help.
Max Stassi was expected to be the team’s starting catcher but went down early with a hip injury. Whenever he comes back, he’ll likely get most of the playing time. For now, the Angels will go with Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach, who are both career-negative WAR players.
The promising catching prospect hopes to play in a game again this season.
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