Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe will miss four to six months with a torn labrum, potentially ending his season. O’Hoppe initially injured his shoulder last weekend against the Boston Red Sox. Initially thought to be a minor injury, he played through it. However, in Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees, he re-aggravated the injury on a swing, leaving the game in tremendous pain. The news is not what the Angels wanted to hear, especially since O’Hoppe was off to a solid start in 2023.
Logan O’Hoppe Out with Torn Labrum
O’Hoppe had high expectations entering his first full season. After a cup of coffee in 2022, he came into the year as the Angels’ top prospect, ranked 47th overall on the MLB.com list. The 23-year-old rookie did not disappoint early on. In 16 games, O’Hoppe hit .283 with four home runs, 13 RBI, a .886 OPS, and a 143 OPS+. But the high hopes were placed on pause on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Game Note:
Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe exits game with left shoulder pain in the 9th inning in New York. To locker room for med eval.
Feel better soon Logan!#OHoppe #Angels #LAAvsNYY #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/dvArYBmn3V— Anaheim Sports (@AnaheimSports1) April 20, 2023
During a ninth-inning at-bat against Greg Weissert, O’Hoppe made contact and hit a ball sharply down the left field line. However, the awkward swing, causing him to go down to one knee, re-aggravated a shoulder injury from earlier in the week. As a result, what might have been a double only resulted in a single. O’Hoppe, clearly in pain, was attended to by trainers at first base before departing the game. The news came back Sunday that O’Hoppe suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
O’Hoppe’s absence will make a tenuous catcher situation for the Angels even more so. With Max Stassi (hip) still on the IL, catching duties will now be split between Chad Wallach and Matt Thaiss. Wallach is the more experienced of the two, so expect him to get most of the reps before Stassi returns. O’Hoppe is the Angels’ catcher of the future, so they will hope the timeline is closer to four months than the rest of the season.
Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned: Logan O’Hoppe, Greg Weissert, Max Stassi, Chad Wallach, Matt Thaiss
