ANAHEIM -- The Angels’ lineup received some help with the return of catcher Logan O'Hoppe for Friday’s opener in the Freeway Series against the Dodgers, while the rotation is set to get a boost with right-hander Grayson Rodriguez slated to come off the injured list to make his club debut in a start on Sunday.
O’Hoppe had been on the injured list since April 26 with a small fracture in his left wrist but completed a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League and Triple-A Salt Lake before being reinstated on Friday. Fellow catcher Omar Martinez was optioned to Salt Lake to make room for O’Hoppe, who will return to his role as the club’s primary catcher with Sebastián Rivero serving as backup. O’Hoppe batted eighth in his return.
“I feel great,” O’Hoppe said. “I don't know if I'd tell [head trainer Mike] Frostad this, but whatever the timeline the doctors say, I cut it in half [laughs] and hope for the best, and do what I need to do.”
O’Hoppe, 26, slashed .205/.323/.256 with a homer, a double and eight RBIs in 26 games before sustaining the injury on a foul tip while catching in Kansas City. He went 0-for-4 in the ACL but went 2-for-3 in two games at Triple-A.
He said he still feels some discomfort during certain movements like catching pitches up and to his left, but that it’s manageable and isn’t an issue when swinging. He said he felt like things were finally starting to click before sustaining the injury, and so he’s hopeful it carries over.
Manager Kurt Suzuki was pleased to have O’Hoppe back in the lineup, especially because the Angels still don’t know how long veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud will be out with his plantar fasciitis suffered while running to first base on May 6.
“Having O’Hoppe down on the IL was definitely tough,” Suzuki said. “But the guys we had, they did a nice job. But anytime you can get a guy like Hop back and have some stability there with the pitchers and with his bat in the lineup, I'm excited.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, opened the season on the IL with right shoulder inflammation but fared well in his rehab start with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday, striking out 11 in 4 2/3 innings after he previously pitched at the club’s Spring Training complex in Arizona.
The 26-year-old was acquired in the trade that sent Taylor Ward to the Orioles and has a career 4.11 ERA with 259 strikeouts in 238 2/3 innings. He missed last season due to injury and had bone spurs removed from his elbow in August. So his start on Sunday will be his first in the big leagues since July 31, 2024.
“I just thank God that I'm here,” Rodriguez said. “It was a tough road, for sure. My wife, my family, they helped me through it. Rehab, there’s a lot of dark days with that. And for a little bit just kind of wondering why certain things kept happening, and just finally, obviously, getting to this organization and working with this medical staff, we got our thumb on it and got after what needed to be better, and here we are.”
While O’Hoppe returned and Rodriguez’s season debut is looming, flamethrowing reliever Ben Joyce suffered a minor setback in his recovery from right shoulder surgery. Joyce, who underwent the surgery 12 months ago, underwent an MRI exam after he didn’t feel like his shoulder was recovering properly after four rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
But the MRI exam came back clean and he said he’s just dealing with soreness but will slow down his rehab program.
“It’s a process,” Joyce said. “We got a little flare-up. Got some testing done but it looks all good in there. Just going to slow it down a little bit right now. It’s just part of the process after a shoulder surgery. Just kind of has ups and downs. But we were pretty positive about the results. Nothing structurally wrong, it's just working through a little soreness right now.”