This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- Most big leaguers aren’t exactly pleased when they get optioned to the Minors.
But Logan O'Hoppe felt like he needed it. Not just the change of scenery that came when the Rangers acquired him from the Angels on July 29, though that was definitely a piece of it. He needed to take the opportunity to go down to Triple-A -- his first option since his MLB debut in 2022 -- and find himself again.
“One hundred percent,” he said on Sunday, when the Rangers recalled him from Triple-A Round Rock.
O’Hoppe -- a former top prospect who was acquired by the Angels from the Phillies for Brandon Marsh in 2022 -- had struggled in the bigs this year before his option, posting a .209/.271/.295 slash line with four home runs in 75 games. On the defensive end, he ranks last among all catchers with -11 catcher framing runs and second worst with -10 blocks above average. He's also in the 25th percentile among qualified catchers with a 1.97 second pop time.
In his own words, he needed an all-around reset.
“I wasn't very confident in what I was doing,” O’Hoppe said on Sunday, when he finally joined the big league club. “I wasn't convicted in really anything I was doing on the field, but I knew that what I had done in the past was in there. When I was told I got optioned, I was excited for it. I was actually more excited than if I just came over here. I would have felt more pressure if I just came over here feeling how I did.
“The coaching staff down there took me in right away. I got that spark back in me, like waking up in the morning and [being] really excited to get to the field again. Today feels like my debut. I’m enjoying the game again.”
O’Hoppe was open about his struggles over the past four years, both on and off the field. The things he couldn’t control weren’t easy: three managers, four catching coordinators, an oft-struggling franchise.
But he also admits that he didn’t handle his side of things either. The blame isn’t with anybody but himself.
“I didn't like the dude in the mirror, on or off the field,” O’Hoppe said. “It was the hardest four years of my baseball life. It taught me a lot. I'm really grateful for that. I met a lot of good people over there, had a lot of good experiences, but it brought a lot of challenges. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't true.
“I'm grateful for those challenges. I wouldn't change it if I were to go back and do it. But the bottom line is, it was hard. I'm really happy that I can use what I learn now and help this team as much as they can get in the playoffs.”
We talk about changes of scenery all the time, but how much can that actually affect a player’s mindset and outlook?
“Mentally and physically … sometimes you just need a change of scenery,” said manager Skip Schumaker. “Again, not too often will you hear a veteran player be excited to go to the Minor Leagues. He wanted that work, he wanted the reset and he wanted the mental break and some clarity of exactly what he's doing, and to get it right. He didn't feel like it was going to help him in his career at the big league level.
“It was a credit to him. He didn't go down there pissed off that he was in the Minor Leagues. He went down there to work on stuff, and he did a good job of it.”
O’Hoppe slashed .292/.386/.556 in 18 games with Round Rock, coincidentally lining up with a time in which the Rangers' offense could desperately use a spark. It’s not on him to carry anything, but another quality right-handed bat in the lineup could only help at this point.
He had a single in his Rangers debut Sunday against his former team, and he is -- at the very least -- hoping to help his new club in the playoff push.
“It's not easy to do what he's done the last couple years at this level, and then be traded and be sent down,” Schumaker said. “That is hard. He wanted the reset physically and mentally to go down there and work on things and have a little bit of an overhaul without having to worry about results day in and day out. He's taking what we suggested and applying it, and it's translated.”