Angels sign catcher Travis d'Arnaud to 2-year deal

It is now clear that one of the Angels’ main strategies for improving this winter is by adding players they believe can have a positive influence on the ones they already had.

The Angels signed veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year, $12 million deal on Tuesday.

General manager Perry Minasian then described the value he believes d’Arnaud can have on starting catcher Logan O’Hoppe and the Angels’ corps of young pitchers.

“You’re trusting (a catcher) to put down the right fingers anywhere from 150 to 200 times a game,” Minasian said. “One pitch can change a game, good or bad. To have a guy like Travis in the mix, and for Logan to have the opportunity to not only play with him, but learn from him and be around them, I think will be a huge benefit.”

Minasian had similar comments about right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who they signed to a one-year deal last week.

D’Arnaud, 35, is a veteran of 12 major league seasons, the last five with the Atlanta Braves. He hit .238 with 15 homers and a .739 OPS in 99 games last season. D’Arnaud was an All-Star in 2022.

A product of Lakewood High, d’Arnaud wanted to return to Southern California, Minasian said. D’Arnaud is expected to speak to the media on Wednesday.

“Travis just really stuck out for us as someone that you know can not only play at a high level, but the makeup is off the charts,” Minasian said. “He’s a winner. He’s played on a ton of winning teams. He knows what winning teams do. He’s got the ability to affect the locker room in as positive of a way as anybody I’ve ever been around. He’s great with young pitching. He’s great with the coaching staff. He’s great with the manager. He’s just an awesome guy.”

Minasian has experience with d’Arnaud because he was the Braves’ assistant GM when Atlanta acquired d’Arnaud prior to the 2020 season. Angels manager Ron Washington was the third base coach in Atlanta for four of d’Arnaud’s seasons there.

It remains to be seen what the Angels will do with Matt Thaiss, who had been O’Hoppe’s backup each of the last two seasons.

Minasian said they could keep three catchers, because Thaiss can also play some first and third. The Angels also could trade Thaiss, 29.

By moving d’Arnaud into the role Thaiss had, the Angels are giving themselves much more experience behind the plate.

In 2022, the Angels seemed to be enjoying a renaissance of young pitching, with Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Jose Suarez enjoying outstanding seasons. Over the past two years, though, the Angels pitching has been a disappointment, with several of the promising young pitchers stalling or going backward.

Some within the organization have suggested privately over the past two seasons that one of the reasons was the absence of a veteran catcher. In 2022, the pitchers worked with Max Stassi.

Now, the Angels have a chance to recreate what Stassi provided.

“I do believe having a veteran catcher like Travis d’Arnaud, with what he brings and how he can explain things like sequencing, is a huge deal,” Minasian said. “Game calling is really tough to quantify. He’s outstanding when it comes to putting the right fingers down.”

Having a more experienced backup could also allow the Angels to relieve O’Hoppe of such a heavy workload. O’Hoppe started 121 games last season, the third-most in the majors. O’Hoppe also went into a deep offensive slump throughout most of August and September.

O’Hoppe, 24, insisted repeatedly that the two were not related. He said fatigue was not an issue in his slump. He finished the season with a 1.278 OPS in his last six games, supporting his point. Minasian also said on Tuesday that he didn’t feel they needed to reduce O’Hoppe’s workload.

Minasian said it would be up to Washington to determine how much playing time d’Arnaud would get.

“The catching position is so important for a club, to have two players of this caliber on the same team and to feel like we’ll be able to put a catcher on the field every day that’s going to give us an outstanding chance to win is huge,” Minasian said.

In addition to the d’Arnaud move, the Angels have added a member of the Atlanta coaching staff. Minasian said on Tuesday that they’ve hired Sal Fasano as their assistant pitching coach, creating a new position. He will work with pitching coach Barry Enright and bullpen coach Steve Karsay.

Fasano, who has worked with Minasian with the Toronto Blue Jays and Braves, is a former major league catcher. Minasian said Fasano “is outstanding with arms,” similar to Dave Duncan, another former catcher who became an acclaimed pitching coach.

The Angels opened a 40-man roster spot for d’Arnaud by designating right-hander Guillo Zuñiga for assignment.