Concussion Forces Angels to Turn to Catcher Who Hasn't Played MLB Game in 3 Years

Sebastian Rivero is not a familiar name to Angels fans. He's barely a familiar name at Salt Lake, where he's played 68 games for the Angels' Triple-A affiliate since signing a minor league contract last December.

#Angels transactions:

•Selected the contract of C Sebastián Rivero (#38)
•Placed C Logan O’Hoppe on 7-day injured list
•Transferred OF Jorge Soler to 60-day injured list
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) September 8, 2025

As of Monday, Rivero part of a timeshare behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud and the Angels' starting catcher for their series opener against the Minnesota Twins.

Logan O'Hoppe was struck on the face mask in a freak injury Sunday against the Athletics. As first reported by Erica Weston of FanDuel Sports Network West, the catcher will go on the 7-day concussion IL.

Sebastian Rivero is catching. O’Hoppe going on the concussion IL.
— Erica Weston (@EricaLWeston) September 8, 2025

Rivero, 26, is making his first appearance in a major league game since Oct. 5, 2022 with the Kansas City Royals.

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A native of Venezuela, Rivero signed as an international free agent with the Kansas City Royals on July 10,  2015.

Rivero debuted professionally in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League and Arizona League, posting a combined .280 average. In 2017, he played for the rookie-level Burlington Royals, hitting .265 with four home runs and 28 RBIs.

Rivero moved to Single-A Lexington in 2018, batting .258/.301/.391 with seven homers and 34 RBI. In 2019, he split time between High-A Wilmington and Triple-A Omaha, combining to slash .216/.273/.280 across 94 games.

Rivero didn’t play in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the minor league season, but was added to the Royals’ 60‑man pool and then protected on their 40‑man roster after the season.

"Behind the plate, he’s ready to catch," former Royals manager Mike Matheny told the Kansas City Star at the time. "He does everything you’d want to see as far as game management, … receiving, blocking, throwing. He checks all those boxes.”

Rivero was 22 years old when he made his major league debut May 8, 2021, starting behind the plate against the Chicago White Sox.

“I got really happy,” he told the Star. “I would say I didn’t expect it, but my wife was always like, ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to get the call. … We’re going to be good.’ ”

Rivero played 17 games in 2021 and 17 more in 2022 before he was released by the Royals after the season. Salvador Perez was by then the established starter in Kansas City, and Freddy Fermin was establishing himself as the backup.

Rivero, 26, signed with the Chicago White Sox for 2023, and the Atlanta Braves for 2024, before joining the Angels last winter. A right-handed hitter, he slashed .264/.309/.429 in 254 plate appearances at Salt Lake.

Logan O'Hoppe had to leave the game after Jacob Wilson accidentally hit the catcher with his backswing pic.twitter.com/Pwb9Yv3Drv
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) September 7, 2025

O'Hoppe, 25, caught a blow in the facemask between pitches when it was accidentally clipped by the A's hitter, Jacob Wilson. After a visit from a trainer, he was removed from the game.

O'Hoppe is slashing .217/.260/.386 in 109 games this season for the Angels. He was replaced in the game by d'Arnaud, who's been battling a sore knee lately himself.

The Bees had two other catchers on their active roster: Zach Humphreys and Chad Wallach, who played 77 games with the Angels from 2022-23. Wallach was slashing .246/.305/.441 in 35 games with the Bees this season.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.