The Los Angeles Angels seemingly had the future of their starting catcher position for the first few weeks of the regular season, but when Logan O’Hoppe dropped to a knee following a swing at Yankee Stadium, general manager Perry Minasian was once again left searching for an answer behind the dish.
O’Hoppe the year with a 141 wRC+ through 59 plate appearances including four homers, and 13 RBI. He had spent the offseason and the majority of spring camp building a rapport with the Angels pitching staff, which bodes well for the future once he recovers from his torn labrum.
The Angels have expressed confidence in Matt Thaiss and veteran Chad Wallach, but neither provides much upside at the position. Angels general manager Perry Minasian could look to upgrade at the position later, which may include calling up 20-year-old prospect Edgar Quero, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
But Minasian didn’t shut down the idea when asked about calling up Quero.
“I would consider everybody,” Minasian said. “If they’re in the organization, we’ll take a look and we’ll consider what our best options are.”
The switch-hitting catcher hasn’t advanced past Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, but in 13 games this season, Quero has an absurd .508 on-base percentage with six doubles and 10 RBI. With O’Hoppe and Zach Neto getting their time in MLB, Quero is essentially the next Angels’ top prospect who hasn’t reached MLB.
There isn’t a panic with the catching position, and a premature call-up for Quero could stunt his development. The Angels will likely opt to weather the storm with Thaiss and Wallach as the backup until Max Stassi returns to the club.
Angels place Austin Warren on the injured list, recall Chase Silseth
With reliever Austin Warren nursing an injury, the Angels decided to place him on the injured list and recall right-hander Chase Silseth to take his spot on the roster.
Warren alerted the Angels staff that his elbow didn’t feel right during warm up’s prior to Tuesday’s game, and the team opted to get ahead of the issue and shut him down until they can further evaluate. The 27-year-old spent the early part of the season with the Salt Lake Bees at Triple-A, but upon his initial call-up on April 21, manager Phil Nevin used him on back-to-back days against the Kansas City Royals.
More must-reads: