ANAHEIM -- In a surprise move, the Angels traded catcher Logan O'Hoppe and right-handed reliever Chase Silseth to the Rangers in exchange for Minor League third baseman Angel Arredondo shortly before Wednesday’s game against the Astros.
It’s the first major trade under interim general manager John Mozeliak for the Angels, who are set to be sellers ahead of Monday’s Trade Deadline and have other trade candidates such as shortstop Zach Neto and starting pitchers José Soriano and Reid Detmers. Arredondo, 19, wasn’t ranked among Texas’ Top 30 prospects to begin the season but he's having a strong year at Single-A and checks in at No. 27 on the Angels' list. Mozeliak acknowledged that he needed to shake some things up for the organization.
“We decided to get things moving today,” Mozeliak said. “As we enter this trading period, one of the things we are focused on is understanding change. Clearly, where the Angels are at right now, we need to do some things differently. We are trying to balance how to focus on the future, short-term and long-term, but this deal here allows us to free up some spots on our active roster, change some of the playing time and then also adding a young player to our system that we're excited about.”
Arredondo, a Guaymas, Mexico native, has slashed .247/.372/.397 with eight homers, 15 doubles and 47 RBIs in 87 games with Single-A Hickory this season. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has experience at shortstop and second, but profiles as a third baseman.
“He’s really good with the defensive side of the ball, and has plus ball-to-bat skill,” Mozeliak said. “He was just a good baseball player, and I think adding those types of players is good. And so, in our system, he's probably in the Top 10 in prospects. He wasn't getting a lot of third-party recognition, but I do think he's a better player than he's getting mentioned for.”
It also marked a big shift for the Angels, who moved on from O’Hoppe -- once considered their catcher of the future. He had a strong start to his career in the Majors before struggling offensively and behind the plate the last two seasons. O'Hoppe, 26, hit just .209/.271/.295 with four homers, eight doubles and 23 RBIs in 75 games this year.
He was previously acquired in a trade that sent outfielder Brandon Marsh to the Phillies at the 2022 Trade Deadline, and made his MLB debut that season. He’s set to be a free agent after the 2028 season.
Veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud was activated from the injured list to take O’Hoppe’s spot on Wednesday, as they also elected to keep veteran Tyler Heineman on the roster. Fellow backstop Sebastián Rivero is on a rehab assignment, but can be optioned once he’s healthy.
“I thought, in his case, the best thing for him would be a change of scenery,” Mozeliak said of O’Hoppe. “When you think about catchers, you focus on two things, right? The ability to catch, throw, call a game from an actual defensive standpoint, and then the offensive skill set. And I think he was really struggling, putting a lot of pressure on both sides of the ball, and I think that's just really tough to balance. And trying to get him playing time for us was difficult.”
With O’Hoppe out of the mix, the Angels could look to find another catcher via trade before Monday’s deadline. They have two catchers ranked among their Top 30 prospects in No. 16 Juan Flores and No. 24 Marlon Quintero, but Flores is 20 years old at Double-A Rocket City and Quintero is 19 at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
“The answer right now is, as we think to the future, that might be something that we have to do outside the organization,” Mozeliak said. “When we look at the next few days, if there's the ability to try to add some depth to that, I think it would be in our best interest.”
Silseth, meanwhile, has been solid in relief this season, posting a 2.72 ERA with 48 strikeouts and 22 walks in 39 2/3 innings. He has a career 4.12 ERA in 139 2/3 innings in parts of five seasons with the Angels after being an 11th-round pick in 2021, and is a free agent after the 2030 season.
“Not an easy decision,” Mozeliak said. “Moving controllable players is going to be the challenge in this whole exercise, because that's mostly what we have. But we're just going to try to pick and choose our spots where we can create that change, create a different trajectory for the organization.”