The Angels have signed catcher Chad Wallach to a minor league deal, in keeping with his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had beforehand been with the Rangers on a minor league deal however was launched a number of days in the past.
Wallach, 33, is a recognized commodity for the Halos. He received into 77 video games for them over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He additionally spent final 12 months at Triple-A Salt Lake on a minor league deal however didn’t get referred to as up.
He pivoted over to the Rangers initially of this 12 months and received into 28 video games for Triple-A Spherical Rock. He struck out 27.2% of the time but additionally walked at a robust 11.4% clip and hit 4 house runs. That added as much as a .245/.333/.408 line and 89 wRC+.
Wallach confronted a steep path to enjoying time in Texas, the place Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka are the first catching duo. Even when Higashioka went on the injured checklist earlier this 12 months, it was Tucker Barnhart who received the decision to cowl for him. Higashioka subsequently returned from the IL and Barnhart was got rid of the roster however rapidly re-signed on a brand new minor league deal.
The Angels have Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud on the huge league degree. For a lot of the season, they’d Chuckie Robinson at Salt Lake on an non-compulsory task, however he was misplaced to the Dodgers through waivers a few weeks in the past. Although Wallach is just not on the roster, he primarily replaces Robinson as the highest choice to get referred to as up if both O’Hoppe or d’Arnaud suffers an damage.
Together with his time with the Angels, Wallach has additionally suited up for the Reds and Marlins. He has 155 huge league video games underneath his belt over seven separate seasons. He has a .198/.263/.328 batting line however strong defensive grades.
Picture courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Pictures
