ANAHEIM — With the trade deadline still five days away, John Mozeliak announced his plan clearly.
“As we enter this trading period, one of the things we are focused on is understanding change,” the Angels’ interim GM said. “Clearly, where the Angels are right now, we need to do some things differently.”
That started by shipping away two players who had been with the Angels for years. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe and right-handed reliever Chase Silseth were sent to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for 19-year-old infielder Angel Arredondo.
The deal was announced minutes before start of Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Astros, which the Angels lost, 7-4.
“This is part of the game,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said after the game. “I’ve been there as a player. I’ve been through these things multiple times. The thing is the relationships you build with these guys and then when they go to another team, that’s the hard part of it. There’s that human element that goes into it, but I understand. It’s part of the game. They have an opportunity somewhere else.”
Arredondo now has an opportunity with an organization that seems to value him more than the consensus. Although Arredondo was not ranked by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as being among the Rangers’ top 30 prospects, Mozeliak has high hopes for him.
“In our system, he’s probably in the top 10 prospects,” Mozeliak said. “I know he wasn’t getting a lot of third-party recognition in this process, but I do think he’s a better player than he’s getting recognized for.”
A right-handed hitter, Arredondo was hitting .247 with a .769 OPS at Class-A. Mozeliak said he has “plus bat-to-ball skill” and he’s strong defensively. He’s played primarily third base this season.
“He’s just a good baseball player, and I think adding those types of players is good,” Mozeliak said.
The Angels subtracted two players who had seen their careers go in opposite directions.
Silseth, 26, was having his best season. After bouncing between starting and relieving for most of his pro career, he had settled in as one of the Angels’ top high-leverage relievers. He had a 2.72 ERA this season.
Silseth was not going to eligible for free agency for at least four more seasons.
O’Hoppe, 26, was a top 100 prospect when the Angels got him at the trade deadline in 2022. His career began with a flourish, but since the middle of the 2024 season, he has struggled.
This season he was hitting .209 with a .565 OPS. He’d struck out in 25% of his plate appearances. Over the last 22 games, O’Hoppe hit .129 with a .293 OPS. He also struggled defensively, with framing and blocking.
“I thought in his case, the best thing for him would be a change of scenery,” Mozeliak said. “Obviously when you think about catchers, you sort of focus on two things: the ability to catch, throw, call a game from the defensive standpoint, and then the opposite side of that would be the offensive skill set.
“And I think he was really struggling putting a lot of pressure on both sides of the ball. That’s just really tough to balance. At the end, trying to get him playing time for us was difficult. I just think giving him a new place to go play and be forced to do things a little differently for him will be good.”
Veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who was activated from the injured list and returned just in time to say goodbye to O’Hoppe, had positive words about his teammate on the way out.
“Hop’s got a chance to be a perennial All-Star,” d’Arnaud said. “I think he’s going to figure it out and turn it around.”
For now, the Angels have d’Arnaud, 37, and Tyler Heineman, 35, as their two catchers. Mozeliak acknowledged that they might have to “go outside the organization” to acquire a young catcher.
The Angels did not immediately replace Silseth on the roster, so they went one player short in the bullpen on Wednesday night.
With the first move in the books, the focus will now shift to what else they do before Monday’s deadline. In the past, the Angels were unlikely to deal away players who remained under control for subsequent seasons. They are likely listening on just about all of their players, most notably pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano and shortstop Zach Neto.
“Clearly,” Mozeliak said, “what our group is trying to accomplish is change.”