Chris Young has once again made a trade with John Mozeliak, the longtime Cardinals' GM and President of Baseball Operations who now serves as the Angels' interim general manager. CY and Mo have made trades in the past, most famously the trade that sent Jordan Montgomery to Texas, and it's not shocking to see them come together once again. On Wednesday night, the Rangers acquired right-handed reliever Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O'Hoppe from the Angels in exchange for minor league infielder Angel Arrendondo. Here is what the Rangers are getting in Silseth and O'Hoppe:
Chase Silseth RHP-
Chase Silseth is under control for the next three seasons after 2026 and will be a free agent after the 2029 season. The Rangers got a cheap bullpen arm for the rest of this year and the next three seasons, this is exactly what they want. In addition, he currently is posting a 2.73 ERA in 39.2 innings of work. I think Silseth will slide nicely into the 7th inning role for the Rangers. He's got good swing and miss stuff, currently has a 32.7 whiff rate and 27.6 K%. Silseth boasts a four-pitch mix that consists of a fastball, splitter, sweeper, and a sinker to round it out. The fastball averages around 16 iVB (inches of vertical break) and spins at about 2400 rpm. The pitch generates chase and whiff rates north of 30%. The splitter has a 38.4% whiff rate and hitters have a .213 average against it. His sweeper generates a 43.5% chase rate and hitters have a .222 batting average against it. The sinker definitely is his worst offering, as it gets hit pretty hard and hitters don't whiff against it, but maybe the Rangers can make a few tweaks and make it a better pitch for the right-hander. The one issue with Silseth is his ability to keep it in the strike zone. He has a 12.6 BB%. While that might be an issue, the Rangers get a much-needed swing and miss arm in Chase Silseth.
Logan O'Hoppe C-
Now I know fans are going to say, "look at his stats, he's terrible". Yes his stats look very rough, but I really like the Rangers taking a shot at him. Logan O'Hoppe has upside. If the Rangers can unlock that it would be great for the team overall. The Rangers catching position has been a gaping hole for them ever since 2023 when Jonah Heim had a breakout year. O'Hoppe had a solid season for the Angels where he hit 20 homers with 56 RBI's. If the Rangers can tap into something and get him performing there that would be a huge boost for them. I don't think all hope is lost here on him, because the Angels have one of the worst if not maybe the worst player development system in the league. The Angels have rushed players to the big leagues. On the other hand, we have seen big strides offensively throughout the minor leagues. The Rangers have already announced they will option O'Hoppe to Triple-A, which I think is the right move. His defense behind the plate is very rough and needs some work, and while he's there he can work on his offensive game. Even though this is a bet on the upside, I really like this for the Rangers.
My overall thoughts about the trade: The addition of Chase Silseth gives the Rangers immediate bullpen help, while also strengthening the roster for the future, which Silseth does as well, and this moves helps the Rangers in the future. Both players are under control at least until after the 2028 season. Silseth should help the bullpen immediately, while O'Hoppe's upside could allow him to make an impact beginning in 2027 or even down the stretch here in 2026 if things go well. He might be a small project, but this could turn out to be an amazing move for Texas. The best part is they didn't even give up a highly rated prospect. This is a move you do 1,000 times over regardless of how the players perform, because the Rangers need bullpen help and they netted an arm in the deal.
