Reports have come out that the Chicago Cubs made an aggressive pursuit at the trade deadline to get Logan O'Hoppe. The local Suffolk catcher, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels has been excellent and would have filled a big need in Chicago.
The Cubs need the help behind the plate. On the season Cubs catchers are batting under .200 collectively with a just over .300 on base percentage. Simply terrible numbers for a team that was hoping to compete for the division this season. You might pause and argue that catchers are a defense first position and you can live with a bad bat in the lineup, but that argument falls apart when you look at the numbers and see that they are bad defensively as well, ranking in the bottom 10 in both runs saved and fielding run value in the league. To put it in simpler terms only the White Sox, who are on a historic losing pace, are worse behind the plate this season.
That left the Cubs looking at catcher and who better than Logan O'Hoppe? O'Hoppe has been one of the Angels best players, so it's not doubt that the Cubs were “repeatedly and firmly rebuffed”, according to the Athletic.
O'Hoppe is just 24 years old, he ranks inside the top 5 at the position for a number of offensive categories and his power looks like he can develop into a 30 home run threat, without sacrificing the batting average and on base numbers. He also grades out above average defensively, which is usually the last thing to come around for young backstops.
Logan O'Hoppe may not be moving, but the aggressive pursuit of the youngster makes sense and the Angels should expect much more of that. Not only is O'Hoppe turning into one of the best Los Angeles players, but there is a path for him to be one of the best players in the game.