Logan O'Hoppe could be Angels' cornerstone ... or the key to an accelerated rebuild

Logan O'Hoppe is having a breakout season. The Los Angeles Angels starting catcher is hitting .282/.334/.491 on the season with a 130 wRC+. Though not an elite defender (yet), O'Hoppe has performed much better behind the dish this season and his framing skills have improved as well.

On Tuesday, O'Hoppe was a one-man show and almost singlehandedly helped will the Halos to victory. O'Hoppe took Texas Rangers pitcher (and future Hall of Famer) Max Scherzer deep on two separate occasions for the second multi-homer game of his career. But the Angels fell by a final of 5-4.

Unfortunately for O'Hoppe, the Angels as a team are not very good this season. To make matters worse, a deeper look into LA's farm system and contractual obligations into 2025 and beyond makes the Angels' window of contention almost nonexistent at the moment. With that in mind, the Angels would appear to be at a crossroads — trade O'Hoppe to help accelerate a rebuild or hitch their wagon to the 24-year-old backstop as the potential cornerstone moving forward.

Should the LA Angels trade Logan O'Hoppe?

If the Angels decided to do the unthinkable and trade O'Hoppe, either before the July 30 deadline or during the upcoming offseason, they'd receive an absolute haul for his services. Hit-first catchers are extremely rare in today's game, and O'Hoppe's 122 wRC+ through his first two-plus seasons certify that he has that type of profile.

Furthermore, O'Hoppe hasn't even reached his arbitration window. The former Philadelphia Phillies farmhand won't receive a pay raise until 2026 and doesn't reach free agency until after the 2028 season. That type of team control would have almost every GM in Major League Baseball drooling.

Seeing as how the Halos' farm system is one of the worse in all of baseball, dealing O'Hoppe could inject potentially two or even three top-100 prospects into the organization. Currently, LA's only way to upgrade the farm system is through drafting and developing talent — something that hasn't been very fruitful in the past.

Logan O'Hoppe could be the LA Angels cornerstone for years to come

While the idea of trading O'Hoppe could bring great riches to the Angels, prospects are unproven. Several teams have undergone rebuilds in the past with prospect-rich farm systems only to see the best-laid plans blow up in their face.

O'Hoppe has proven himself to be a big league catcher, and one of the best hitting backstops in the game today. Among qualified hitters, only Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers has a higher OPS than O'Hoppe. The Angels' catcher has better overall numbers than All-Stars William Contreras and Adley Rutschman.

The same reasons that other teams would covet O'Hoppe are exactly why LA would want to keep him. Having a low-cost, hit-first catcher is a luxury. Trading away O'Hoppe would almost assuredly not be the only blockbuster deal the Angels would entertain if the organization decided to go all in on a rebuild.

The fanbase has already reached levels of apathy after watching Shohei Ohtani leave last offseason, and trading O'Hoppe would bring even more vitriol from Angels' fans toward both the front office and owner Arte Moreno.

With the Angels already rebuffing trade offers for any player under contract beyond next season, it seems quite unlikely that O'Hoppe is going anywhere. But dealing him would certainly help to get LA out of the current mess they're in, assuming they make the right deal. The franchise appears to have no direction, and trading O'Hoppe (while unpopular) would at least signal that things are going to change.

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