More often than not, you’ll be able to rely on early November to take a break from following baseball information. The World Collection has simply ended, however free company hasn’t began in earnest. Worldwide free brokers usually get posted nearer to the mid-December deadline. Massive trades are extra of a December/January factor. However the Angels don’t function that means. First they traded for Jorge Soler. Then they signed Kyle Hendricks. Now they’ve signed the primary multi-year free company deal of the offseason, linking up with Travis d’Arnaud on a two-year, $12 million contract.
At first blush, this seems like a lot shuffling of deck chairs. The Angels have quite a lot of wants, to place it bluntly. Catcher was one in all their finest positions final yr. They want extra starters, extra relievers, extra outfield depth, extra infield depth, and extra top-of-the-order bats. Incumbent Logan O’Hoppe was one in all solely three hitters on the staff to eclipse the 2-WAR mark. Why not signal a second baseman, or one other beginning pitcher, or just about anybody else?
I feel there’s extra right here than meets the attention, although. We’re not speaking a few blockbuster signing, and fairly frankly, we’re not speaking a few playoff staff. A great season for the Angels in 2025 would imply flirting with .500 and growing just a few new on a regular basis gamers. Possibly Jo Adell will take a step ahead and Mike Trout will play a full season at his regular normal of excellence. Possibly Zach Neto will proceed on his present trajectory in direction of borderline All-Star manufacturing (as soon as he’s again from shoulder surgical procedure, after all) and Reid Detmers will rediscover his wipeout slider.
O’Hoppe is one other key participant to the 2025 staff. After an injury-marred 2023, he performed his first full main league season this yr and confirmed flashes of the offensive potential that made him a Prime 100 prospect. He additionally performed his worst baseball on the finish of the season, with a near-40% strikeout charge within the second half resulting in a 64 wRC+. His protection flagged because the yr wore on, and it wasn’t sterling within the first place.
A few of that’s to be anticipated. Catching is hard! A full season of it, for the primary time? That’ll put on on anybody. However the Angels made issues significantly exhausting for O’Hoppe with their roster building. Their backup catcher, Matt Thaiss, might be higher fitted to first base at this level in his profession. O’Hoppe dealt with a ton of innings in consequence, and whereas the Angels have a greater thought of how a lot that affected him than I do, it actually felt like an pointless burden from my outdoors perspective.
Enter d’Arnaud, an ideal resolution for what ailed the Angels final yr. At 35, he’s not an on a regular basis participant, however he’s been among the best part-time backstops within the sport all through his tenure in Atlanta. He’s able to filling in for stretches, and he grabbed partial management of the Braves catching job final yr, however 75-80 video games seems like a sensible ceiling for a way a lot he’d ideally play.
That’s an exquisite pairing with O’Hoppe, who actually must be the full-time starter. It’s helpful on two axes. First, it’s a significant improve for the Angels at an affordable price. Wish to win extra video games? Upgrading your backup catcher from alternative degree to a plus hitter with good defensive chops is a spectacular strategy to do it. On a pure add-up-the-runs foundation, this signing probably improves the Angels by a number of wins. The value is true, too: Backup catchers simply don’t command a lot in the marketplace lately, which is why d’Arnaud solely obtained $6 million yearly.
For that sum of money, it’s exhausting to think about a greater improve for the Angels. We’re projecting d’Arnaud as a median hitter and defender. That tracks along with his resume over the previous few years. And whereas it won’t sound like a lot, it’s exhausting to get both of these qualities on the hardest defensive place on the diamond. The market this yr was Danny Jansen, d’Arnaud, Carson Kelly, and perhaps Kyle Higashioka. No contender desires to commerce backup catchers — they want them! If the Angels wished to enhance the place, this was concerning the minimal they may spend whereas ending up with a high quality choice.
Now, as I discussed, these additional wins in all probability aren’t going to land this squad within the postseason. However if you wish to make the playoffs in 2026, step one is bettering in 2025. Not solely does d’Arnaud assistance on that entrance, the second yr of his deal supplies the Angels with a ton of flexibility. If he performs effectively this yr, spectacular — that’s subsequent yr’s backup catcher spoken for. If age catches as much as him, such is life. The monetary outlay is hardly ruinous, and taking a little bit of the burden off of O’Hoppe is value the price anyway.
Second, I’m by no means positive find out how to weigh catcher delicate abilities, however having a mentor like d’Arnaud doesn’t look like a dangerous factor for O’Hoppe’s improvement. The one-time Blue Jays and Mets phenom has expertise enjoying with expectations of greatness, and with managing a terrific number of pitching staffs through the years. Good luck placing an actual worth on that ability set, however I’m fairly assured it’s value greater than zero. No place within the majors is extra mentally taxing than catcher, or takes longer to study. Having a smart backup may speed up O’Hoppe’s understanding of the defensive facet of the sport. On the very least, it might probably’t harm.
This being the Angels, the signing is no less than somewhat puzzling. O’Hoppe has proven extra promise offensively than behind the plate to this point in his profession, to the purpose the place he may use a while at DH to remain contemporary whereas retaining his bat within the lineup. Signing a high-caliber backup would usually free the staff as much as just do that. Only one drawback: they went out and traded for a DH two weeks in the past.
Might O’Hoppe play first base to get each he and d’Arnaud within the lineup? Possibly – however the staff in all probability desires Nolan Schanuel to get on a regular basis reps there. Might he DH when Soler rests? Possibly – however Trout may presumably use a break from the on a regular basis rigors of fielding too, and the staff will accurately prioritize his well being. Might Soler play the sphere? Eh, probably not – the Braves tried it final yr, and he appeared like a DH on the market. The items match collectively awkwardly if the Angels are hoping to provide d’Arnaud the identical workload he shouldered in Atlanta (roughly 80 begins and 350 PA).
That makes me marginally much less excited, however that’s extra about Soler’s match than d’Arnaud’s. I nonetheless suppose this signing was impressed, an effective way to enhance the staff for the close to future with out breaking the financial institution or blocking any promising children from enjoying. I reserve the fitting to revise my opinion if d’Arnaud begins meaningfully reducing into O’Hoppe’s enjoying time, however that appears unlikely. As a substitute, I feel that is only a whole lot for a veteran backup. I think about that a number of groups will finish the winter wishing they’d performed the identical.
