The Los Angeles Angels might be without Logan O’Hoppe again after he suffered an apparent head injury on Friday night against the Texas Rangers. The Halos’ backstop exited Friday’s game after a collision at the plate during the seventh inning.
O’Hoppe was available for the media following the game and said that he was fine. But head injuries are taken very seriously nowadays, and the 26-year-old will undergo concussion protocol to be sure that there’s no lingering effects.
But even if O’Hoppe is full-go and back in the Angels’ starting lineup on Saturday, it shouldn’t dissuade Perry Minasain and the front office from setting their sights on former All-Star catcher Elias Diaz. He was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals earlier this week, and at the very least, could provide depth and veteran voice behind the dish.
As it stands now, the Halos would be turning to Sebastian Rivero if O’Hoppe was placed on the seven-day concussion list. The team recently picked up former A’s catcher Austin Wynns and have him stashed away at Triple-A Salt Lake for the time being. Omar Martinez is also on the 40-man roster, and Travis d’Arnaud is on the 10-day IL with plantar fasciitis.
Angels’ catching depth shouldn’t stop them from adding Elias Diaz
So while it’s obvious that the Angels have their fill of backstops, none of them offer the offensive upside that a player like Diaz could provide. His production has certainly taken a step back in recent years, but he’s still a threat a dish and is a good enough defender behind the plate to manage a pitching staff and control the run game.
Diaz has only appeared in a handful of games this season, but in 23 plate appearances, he has a .591 slugging percentage and two of his five hits have left the yard. His dismissal from Kansas City was more about the production of Carter Jensen and Salvador Perez than it was about Diaz’s poor performance.
The Angels continue to trot out O’Hoppe as the team’s everyday catcher, but the sad truth is that he continues to fall woefully short of expectations. His advanced metrics scream “backup catcher”, and he’s hitting just .196/.297/.245 on the season.
Adding Diaz is a low-risk/ high-reward type of pickup, and while catcher is a valuable position, at 35 years old, he’s unlikely to draw a lot of attention among other organizations. Given O’Hoppe’s fragility and inability to impact the game — both offensively and defensively — the Angels should take a flier on Diaz.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source halohangout.com ’
