The Angels have been arguably the busiest team over the first two weeks of the 2024-25 offseason and that continued on November 12. Veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud will join the Angels on a two-year deal, ending his five-year stretch with the Braves. The move gives the Angels another power bat, plus depth behind the plate.

A Look at D’Arnaud

The Braves scored big when Atlanta picked up Travis d’Arnaud on a two-year, $16MM deal before the 2020 season. d’Arnaud turned into a 2020 Silver Slugger when he hit .321/.386/.533 during the shortened season, continuing his comeback after a strong 2019 with the Rays. d’Arnaud won a World Series in 2021, became an All-Star in 2022, and hit double-digits in home runs in each of the last three seasons.

Among catchers from 2022-24, d’Arnaud is ninth in OPS (.745, min. 1,000 PA), ninth in home runs (44), and 13th in total hits (239). It’s worth noting that d’Arnaud played fewer than 100 games in 2023 and 2024, thanks to a concussion in 2023 and lost playing time to Sean Murphy.

It’s hard to argue with how d’Arnaud developed as a hitter. His swing is a bit long (7.8 inches) but d’Arnaud generates a lot of power and bat speed. Plus, he has no problem getting to the ball middle-middle and in the lower half.

d’Arnaud’s approach at the plate comes at a cost. While his Chase% rate sat slightly above league average, his Whiff% of 32.8% ranked in the bottom 10% per Statcast.

Defensively, d’Arnaud struggled at length with throwing runners out, particularly due to his poor pop time. It’s improved over the years, as d’Arnaud’s 1.98s is better than 2017 (2.05s) with the Mets. He’s also improved in blocking behind the plate and was at one point one of the better frames in the league.

The Angels signed Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal at $12MM. He became a free agent after Atlanta voided his $8MM team option for 2025.

Analysis

The Angels now add another ex-Brave to their group of hitters, weeks after Los Angeles picked up Jorge Soler by trade. It also marks the continuation of a busy offseason for the Angels’ front office, one that saw the team bring in Scott Kingery and Kyle Hendricks.

First, it fits what the Angels are looking to do this winter. Their front office stated the Angels would be aggressive and that’s been the case thus far.

Second, it certainly appears the Angels are looking to do a similar timeshare at the catching position like the one seen in Atlanta over the last two seasons. The Angels already have Logan O’Hoppe, who finished tied with Will Smith for fourth-most home runs hit by a catcher (min. 75% GP at catcher).

Like d’Arnaud, O’Hoppe is a heavy swing-and-miss bat but one with above-average power and a fine receiver behind the plate. The Angels leaned on O’Hoppe considerably in 2024, as he played 136 games last season and 127 (121 starts) behind the dish. His numbers took a hit in August, as he hit .099/.163/.176 before his numbers improved in September (.791 OPS).

The fact that the Angels now have a second catcher who’s been reliable should give Ron Washington, someone who got familiar with d’Arnaud during his days on the Braves’ bench, more options and security behind the plate.

It is worth wondering whether it’s wise to spend $6MM annually on a catcher who likely won’t play everyday. But, something that’s working in the Angels’ favor is that Los Angeles has a lot of players, including O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, and Zach Neto, on pre-arbitration deals.

Plus, d’Arnaud is a proven run producer, something the Angels need. Los Angeles finished 28th in the league in runs scored (635) in 2024.