Angels move Sebastián Rivero to 60-day IL

Rivero is facing an extended absence after suffering a dreaded hamate fracture on a swing during Tuesday’s contest against the Astros. The 27-year-old backstop had recorded hits in seven consecutive plate appearances prior to the injury. He’s likely to miss at least one month in a best-case scenario after undergoing surgery next week.

Rivera, who had recorded hits in seven consecutive plate appearances after going 5-for-5 during Sunday’s win over the Dodgers, was lifted during the middle of a fifth-inning at-bat. He was 2-for-2 prior to exiting the contest. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Amazing. Rivero’s first four hits were singles that left the bat at 72, 56, 73 and 84 mph, but they were all perfectly placed. The three harder ones were liners sure to drop in front of outfielders. The 56-mph shot to second would have been an out most of the time, but not against the drawn-in infield the Dodgers were employing with runners on second and third. Finally, in his last at-bat, Rivero crushed a 103-mph liner to the gap for an RBI double. The 27-year-old Rivero, who debuted with the Royals in 2021, came into the day with a .160 average and eight RBI in 156 career plate appearances. He had six hits and two RBI in 49 plate appearances for the Angels this season. In spite of his success, he’ll probably be back on the bench in favor of Logan O’Hoppe on Monday.

D’Arnaud joins Logan O’Hoppe on the IL, leaving Sebastián Rivero as the Angels’ primary catcher for now. The 37-year-old d’Arnaud was hitting .200/.300/.314 in 40 plate appearances.

O’Hoppe hit the injured list with a fracture in his left wrist over the weekend. The 26-year-old backstop suffered the injury when he was hit by a foul tip during Saturday’s game against the Royals. It’ll be a combination of veteran Travis d’Arnaud and Sebastian Rivero handling the catching duties in his absence.

With Logan O’Hoppe heading to the injured list with a fractured left wrist, Rivero will get an opportunity to share the catching duties with Travis d’Arnaud. The 27-year-old backstop was off to a slow start offensively at the Triple-A level, slashing just .239/.275/.283 with no homers, six RBI and a 6/3 K/BB ratio in 51 plate appearances. He can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The 27-year-old backstop delivered a two-run single in the first inning of this one that increased the Angels’ early lead to 4-0. It proved to be the difference in the ballgame. For the spring, Rivero has hit a respectable .240 (6-for-25) with zero homers and eight RBI.

Rivero is back in the fold as emergency catching depth for the Halos after getting into 11 games this past season, his first stint back in the majors since the 2022 campaign.

Campero and Rivero are now free agents who will almost assuredly be looking at non-roster invite contracts with new organization in 2026.

Rivero returns to the majors for the first time since getting into 34 contests for the Royals from 2021-2022. The 26-year-old backstop will serve as veteran Travis d’Arnaud’s primary caddy with starter Logan O’Hoppe heading to the concussion injured list.