Angels make two roster moves: One expected, one not

The Los Angeles Angels have placed rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe on the IL with an injury to his left shoulder. O'Hoppe left yesterday's game prematurely after hurting it on a swing, and will hopefully be back soon. The Angels do not have an update on the severity of the injury.

The corresponding move to this transaction is the promotion of Chad Wallach. The veteran catcher was on the taxi squad while the Angels were in New York and was the clear choice to replace O'Hoppe. He doesn't bring the bat O'Hoppe has, but Wallach has been known for his defense.

Wallach is going to start tonight and catch Shohei Ohtani. It's unclear how the playing time will be divided with him and Matt Thaiss, but I'd expect somewhat of an even split for now until one starts to outplay the other.

The LA Angels have made two roster moves. One of them was expected, the other was not.

The other move the Angels made was a bit of a head scratcher. The Angels have called Austin Warren up and demoted Jimmy Herget. This caught me by surprise to see the Angels give up on Herget this quickly, but it's clear he just hasn't been the same guy as he was in 2022.

The funky right-hander has made eight appearances and thrown 8.2 innings for the Angels. In those appearances, he's allowed six runs on ten hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He has a 6.23 ERA and a 6.22 FIP.

It looks to me like hitters just haven't been fooled at all by his pitches like they were last season. Herget struck out 8.2 batters per nine last season which ranked in the 57th percentile according to baseball savant. That number is down to 5.2/9 this season which ranks in the seventh percentile. His whiff rate is down from the 49th percentile to the eighth percentile. And his chase rate is down from the 52nd percentile to the 22nd percentile. These are all noticeable differences.

Herget has the opportunity to get straightened out in AAA while the Angels promote Austin Warren who's looked great ever since Spring Training. The right-hander has seven scoreless innings in five appearances with eight strikeouts for AAA Salt Lake.

I expect Herget to come back at some point this season, it could even be relatively soon. He was so good last season, and the Angels could use that version of Herget back. It just wasn't working now, and with the Angels bullpen so taxed, it did make sense to send him down.

The Angels had an open roster spot on their 40-man roster, but to add both Warren and Wallach, the Angels have to make a move on their 40-man. We'll see what that is very soon.