ANAHEIM -- Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe left Friday’s game against the Red Sox in the third inning after being hit in the face mask by a foul ball from Andruw Monasterio.
With lefty Reid Detmers pitching with two on and one out, Monasterio fouled back a four-seam fastball that hit off the side of O’Hoppe’s mask and caused him to immediately fall backward. Home plate umpire Adam Beck helped keep O’Hoppe steady before head athletic trainer Mike Frostad visited home plate.
O’Hoppe quickly left the game with Frostad but was able to walk away on his own accord and wasn’t down for an extended period of time. But it was still a scary moment, and he was replaced by Tyler Heineman behind the plate.
O’Hoppe has had concussion issues in the past, including landing on the 7-day concussion list last September on a freak play that saw A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson’s bat hit under O’Hoppe’s chin before he started a practice swing.
O’Hoppe, 26, previously missed time after sustaining a fractured wrist on April 25. He missed 19 games from April 26-May 15 with the injury but had been swinging a hot bat recently. Over his last 19 games, O'Hoppe was batting .305/.317/.475 with two homers, four doubles and 10 RBIs but didn’t come to the plate before suffering his injury on Friday. He’s hitting .228/.290/.333 with four homers, eight doubles and 23 RBIs on the season.
If he misses time with a concussion, it would test the club’s depth at catcher, especially with Travis d’Arnaud (plantar fasciitis) and Sebastián Rivero (hamate fracture) both on the injured list. Rivero is considered closer to returning, as his injury occurred on April 9 and he was expected to miss roughly four weeks, while d’Arnaud has been out since May 6 and is still considered several weeks from returning.
The Angels, however, do still have veteran Logan Porter on the 40-man roster, and he’d be the logical option if O’Hoppe needs to be placed on the IL. Porter played in two games with the club after signing as a Minor League free agent on June 8, going 1-for-4 with a double.