One simple statistic shows exactly how Angels could deploy their catching platoon

The Angels are excited about their catching situation heading into 2025, and fans are eagerly awaiting how they will deploy Logan O'Hoppe and Travis d'Arnaud. Will it be a true switch-off every game, i.e. O'Hoppe plays on Tuesday, d'Arnaud Wednesday, O'Hoppe Thursday, etc.? That seems somewhat unlikely given that O'Hoppe should be the no. 1 and d'Arnaud should be the no. 2, instead of them being 1A and 1B. In theory, O'Hoppe should still be catching two games in a row even with d'Arnaud being brought in on a two-year, $12 million deal. So, how exactly how will the Angels deploy their catchers?

Many anticipate O'Hoppe and d'Arnaud's playing time to both dip down some. LoganO'Hoppe's 125 games caught last season was the third highest mark in the league (trailing only Cal Raleigh and Shea Langeliers), and the soon-to-be 25-year-old's 2024 production fell off in August and his playing time was subsequently limited in September. Travis d'Arnaud played in 99 games last season and is entering his age-36 season. Well, 125+99=224 and the season is only 182 games long so there will need to be some compromise from both sides. However, the Angels' coaching staff wants O'Hoppe, their catcher of the future to continue to catch in bulk and acclimate to what the standards are for a burgeoning star back-stop. Sure he slowed down at the end of last year, but now he can go about his business better from that learning experience.

Furthermore, d'Arnaud wants to defer his playing time to O'Hoppe. A day after signing, d'Arnaud is quoted as saying this about O'Hoppe: "I want him to be the greatest Angels catcher of all time...I made sure I reached out to him to let him know I’m always here for him and anything he ever needs or wants." In order for him to be the greatest Angels catcher of all time, he will need the majority of the playing time in 2025.

With catchers, playing time sometimes comes down to which starting pitchers they have a bond with. Like with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes and Yasmani Grandal or Jon Lester and David Ross back when they played for the Cubs, some elite starting pitchers have their own personal catcher. Well for one, with Sal Fasano and Barry Enright working alongside catching coach Jerry Narron, the catchers and coaches should be able to all put their heads together on game-planning for their starting pitchers. The work being done behind the scenes should be able to render both catchers as equally valuable behind the plate, no matter who is on the mound. Secondly, every pitcher on the Angels (save for maybe Yusei Kikuchi) is just not worthy of a personal catcher. Those are reserved for high caliber pitchers (e.g. Skenes, Jon Lester, and Gerrit Cole) and knuckleballers.

One quick glance at the catchers' hitting splits tells you exactly how O'Hoppe and d'Arnaud should be platooned in 2025

There might be an easy solution staring us in the face. Both O'Hoppe and d'Arnaud are well-known for being catchers who rake, but do you know their splits from both last season and their career? wRC+ is an incredible resource, and some teams have even sorted their lineup 1-9 based solely on wRC+. A wRC+ of 100 is average, and a number above 100 is above average and a number below 100 is below average.

Well, d'Arnaud's 2024 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers was 90, but it was 146 against left-handed pitchers. He absolutely crushes LHPs, but does not hit RHPs that well. O'Hoppe's 2024 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers was 109, but it was 71 against left-handed pitchers. He hits RHPs well, but strangely struggles mightily against LHPs. Their 2024 numbers are consistent with their careers. O'Hoppe, a right-handed hitter, is a career "reverse splits" guy. Even with a larger sample size against RHPs, O'Hoppe's career wRC+ is 10 points higher against righties (106 vs. 96). d'Arnaud is a more traditional right-handed hitter, for his career his wRC+ is 24 points higher against LHPs (119 vs. 95).

Will the platoon be that simple? Play O'Hoppe against right-handed pitchers and play d'Arnaud against left-handed pitchers? It checks out when you factor in that O'Hoppe will be playing more than d'Arnaud -- there are more right-handed starters than left-handed starters in the league. The Angels sure seem like they are going to prioritize offense over defense next season, so they need to take advantage their catchers' strengths at the plate while also avoiding their weaknesses. This is the way to do just that.

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