The Angels are heading into the deadline as sellers again, but this time there’s a different voice steering the front office. John Mozeliak, the longtime Cardinals president, is running things on an interim basis after Perry Minasian was fired last month, and one of his first priorities is clear: find a young catcher, according to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.
That search makes sense because catching has been a problem for a while, and Logan O’Hoppe hasn’t solved it. The Angels made a rare prospect-for-prospect deal at the 2022 trade deadline, sending Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia for O’Hoppe, and for a stretch it looked like the kind of move that could work for both sides. O’Hoppe hit .244/.303/.409 with 20 homers and solid defense in 2024, but the production has fallen off badly since then.
Last season, O’Hoppe, 26, launched 19 homers in a full workload but hit just .213/.258/.371 with a 30.8% strikeout rate. This year he’s made more contact, but the quality has slipped, and he still isn’t walking enough at 6.9% to make up for the weak batting average.
He’s averaging only 86.9 mph off the bat with a 36.4% hard-hit rate, a sharp drop from the 90.6 mph and 46.6% marks he posted across nearly 1,200 plate appearances from 2023-25. Through 245 plate appearances this season, he’s at .211/.275/.300 with a 61 wRC+, and the defensive numbers are just as rough: -13 Defensive Runs Saved and -13 Fielding Run Value from Statcast.
The Angels still control O’Hoppe for two more seasons after this one, but the trend line is ugly enough that he looks like a possible non-tender or change-of-scenery candidate. Another club could even take a shot on him before the season ends. Either way, the fact that Anaheim is already looking for another long-term answer at catcher says plenty about where things stand.
The problem is that the Angels don’t have an obvious internal fix. They have four catcher-capable players in their top 30 across Baseball America and MLB.com, and none is older than 20.
Garrett Wright, taken in the eighth round earlier this month, is one of them. Juan Flores, 20, is the most advanced of the group, but he has only just reached Double-A and is hitting .243/.264/.429 with an 82 wRC+ in 73 plate appearances, with no walks yet.
He’s regarded as a plus defender, but the hit tool, speed and power all grade poorly, which points to a backup profile unless the bat takes a step forward.
That leaves the trade market. If the Angels are serious about getting a high-end catching prospect, they may need to break from the way they’ve handled deadlines for more than a decade.
They have typically avoided moving players with years of club control left, preferring to hold onto them until free agency or until injuries and poor performance drag down the return. Patrick Sandoval, Andrew Heaney, Luis Rengifo and Shohei Ohtani are all examples of players who could have brought strong returns if dealt at the right time.
They weren’t, and that decision has helped leave the Angels where they are now.
There are signs Mozeliak may at least be willing to listen on controllable pieces such as Zach Neto, Reid Detmers and José Soriano. Detmers and Soriano are under control through 2028, while Neto runs through 2029. If the Angels were to move all three, plus rentals like Kirby Yates or controllable relievers like Sam Bachman, they could remake the farm system quickly.
That’s the big question, though: would owner Arte Moreno actually allow it? If he did, the Angels could chase catching help from a few different places.
The Rays have two of the game’s top catching prospects in Caden Bodine and Nathan Flewelling, while the Twins just drafted Vahn Lackey third overall, though he can’t be traded right now. That could still affect whether Eduardo Tait becomes available.
Mozeliak’s old organization in St. Louis also has catching depth, and while the Cardinals aren’t moving Rainiel Rodriguez, Jimmy Crooks could be a more realistic target.
Rosenthal and Sammon also mentioned the Cubs’ Owen Ayers as another near-MLB-ready option.
None of those names is a perfect fit, and none would be enough by itself to land a player like Neto, Soriano or Detmers. The Angels also aren’t limiting themselves strictly to catchers, because the system is thin everywhere.
Baseball America and MLB.com each have only one Angels prospect in their latest top-100 updates, Tyler Bremner. FanGraphs has three in its top 110: Bremner, Hayden Alvarez and George Klassen.
The Athletic’s Keith Law has Johnny Slawinski as the Angels’ lone player in his new top 70.
So the Angels are not in a position to be selective. Even so, the fact that a young catcher sits near the top of the wish list tells you what the front office thinks needs fixing first.
Mozeliak may be willing to listen on the right names. The real question is whether Moreno will let him do enough to matter.
In Other News...
Angels Face A Familiar Deadline Test With One Costly Veteran Bat
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Solers market is complicated by the fact that he has underperformed and still carries enough salary to make any deal tricky. Even so, the Angels have been linked to a broader deadline picture that includes interest in arms and younger pieces such as Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano and Zach Neto, which makes Soler feel like the type of veteran who could be moved if the club decides to lean into the market rather than fight it. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Tried To Pry Mike Trout From The Angels Again
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Boston is still looking around the Angels orbit, too, with Zach Neto now on its radar and Washington shortstop CJ Abrams also drawing interest. But Trout looks like a long shot at best this season, thanks to his no-trade clause and the Angels reluctance to move him, which leaves the Red Sox chasing talent while the most eye-catching possibility stays mostly theoretical. [Read more 🡒]