ANAHEIM, Calif. — After exiting in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against the Athletics, Logan O’Hoppe is headed to the 7-day injured list due to a concussion.
In a corresponding move, the Angels have called up catcher Sebastián Rivero in place of O’Hoppe.
As Angels pitcher Luis GarcÃa was getting set at the mound, A’s batter Jacob Wilson was waving his bat to get set at the plate. He hit O’Hoppe in the chin with it.
The Angels medical staff immediately attended to O’Hoppe following the collision, and he was able to walk off the field and exit the game.
“We gotta really excericise caution with these things,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said Monday afternoon. “We don’t want him to feel anything other then good.”
Montgomery said he has not spoken with O’Hoppe today, but said he heard he is feeling a little bit better.
“It was a little bit more than it seemed,” Montgomery said. “You just don’t know how that feels. He was pretty shook up yesterday and obviously after the game he was feeling a little better.”
Rivero will be making his Angels debut tonight and is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2022, when he was a member of the Kansas City Royals.
When he found out the news that he was returning back to the big leagues for the first time in almost three years, Rivero said he and his wife started crying and recalled it as something that he will remember for the rest of his life.
“We prayed so much to get back here.” Rivero said.
In 2022, the Royals released Rivero, making him a free agent. He then went on to play with the White Sox in 2023 but was released. Last year, he was with the Braves until he elected free agency during the offseason.
Now in a new home with the Angels, he will be hitting eighth today and will be behind the plate for Caden Dana.
Rivero said he caught for Dana a lot when the two were in Triple-A together and that he feels comfortable and ready to go.
“When I saw I was catching today, and saw he was pitching. He’s going to be easy because I know what he likes to throw,” Rivero said. “I already know where he likes to throw at. I know how he’s going to work the hitters.”
This season, Rivero has a slash line of .264/.309/.429 with 9 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 19 extra base hits.
The last time he hit above .250 in the minors was in 2021 when he made his MLB debut.
Rivero spent 2021 between the big league roster and the minor league roster. He finished the season on the Royals MLB roster, hitting .175 with 3 RBIs.
Getting a full reset with the Angels, he approached this season working on his mental approach with Bees hitting coach Alonzo Powell.
The Angels shifted their lineup today by moving Zach Neto to the three hole and having Mike Trout lead off. Montgomery said he liked the decision of moving Neto to the three spot because of his ability to hit with runners ahead of him. Neto is third on the Angels for home runs (25) and RBIs (60).
Earlier today, Jo Adell was named the American League player of the week after hitting .407 with 5 home runs and 12 RBIs. Adell leads the Angels for home runs with 35 and is on pace to hit over 40 for the first time in his career.