Almost two years later, the Brandon Marsh-Logan O’Hoppe trade has ‘worked out for everybody’

ANAHEIM, Calif. — To fully comprehend how the Phillies and Los Angeles Angels pulled off a one-for-one swap of controllable young players at the 2022 trade deadline, go back seven months before the deal actually got completed.

It was November 2021. An owner-driven lockout was about to shut down Major League Baseball for 99 days. The Phillies were looking everywhere for a center fielder and approached the Angels about Brandon Marsh, a 2016 second-round pick with upside who struck out in 35% of his plate appearances in his first major-league season.

”They would not move him,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recalled last year. “They wouldn’t even discuss him at that time.”

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The Phillies got similarly little traction with other teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks about Alek Thomas and the Houston Astros about Jose Siri. So, after the lockout, they re-signed Odúbel Herrera and began the season with a center-field platoon of him, Matt Vierling, and later Mickey Moniak.

In late July, less than a week before the deadline and with scant production out of center field, Dombrowski reconnected with Angels general manager Perry Minasian. Marsh was still striking out too much, and the Angels had outfield depth.

This time, Minasian was more open to a deal, with a notable caveat.

”He basically was always persistent,” Dombrowski said, “that it was going to be [Logan] O’Hoppe [in return].”

O’Hoppe was among the best stories in the farm system. A catcher and former 23rd-round pick, he hit 17 homers in 2021 and 15 in the first half of the 2022 season in double A. But his path to the majors was blocked like a curveball in the dirt by J.T. Realmuto, who plays more than any catcher in baseball and is signed through 2025.

The Phillies had a hole in center field and a chance to end a decadelong playoff drought. The Angels, headed for another losing season, recognized an opportunity to obtain their future catcher. The deal came together a few hours before the deadline.

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And nearly two years later, it appears to be a win-win.

Marsh, 26, returned to Angel Stadium on Monday night for the first time since the trade as primarily a left fielder. But he’s also a vastly improved hitter, with a wider stance and a smaller leg kick. He’s using the field and drawing more walks.

The results are stark. In 703 plate appearances with the Phillies, he’s batting .281/.356/.469 with 66 extra-base hits and a 30.6% strikeout rate. Compare that to what he did with the Angels: .239/.299/.354, 36 extra-base hits, 35.7% strikeout rate.

“I was such a baby when I was here,” Marsh said. “Just the experience of the game, getting used to it, getting on a routine, I feel like I’m the same guy. I just know a little bit more than I did.”

O’Hoppe, 24, made his major-league debut late in the 2022 season and emerged last year as the Angels’ primary catcher. Entering the week, he was batting .293/.348/.439 with two homers. Angels manager Ron Washington said he wants O’Hoppe to start 125-135 games, a Realmuto-sized workload behind the plate.

“I know that he’s a stud,” Marsh said. “You always want to pull for the guy you got traded for a little bit. It makes me look good when he does good, you know?”

A final verdict on the trade may depend on whether Marsh can hit left-handed pitchers. He has gotten a few more opportunities this season, starting four of the Phillies’ 11 games against lefty starters. But his struggles against lefties still leave him on the bench more often than other everyday players.

It’s clear, though, that neither the Phillies nor the Angels want a do-over on a trade that has benefited both.

”I’m happy for [O’Hoppe], proud of him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s a great guy, and he’s very talented. That was a good trade, I think, for both sides. We get Marsh, they get O’Hoppe. We had J.T. locked up. I think it worked out for everybody.”

In deciding to give Spencer Turnbull another start Tuesday night against the Angels, the Phillies took into account more than his 1.33 ERA in 27 innings while Taijuan Walker was out with a right shoulder impingement.

The Phillies are nearing the end of a stretch of 13 games without a day off and 26 games in 27 days. Ranger Suárez, Aaron Nola, and Zack Wheeler rank second, third, and fifth in the National League in innings. As long as Turnbull is pitching well, the Phillies recognized a chance to sneak in additional rest for each of them before the schedule lightens with days off Thursday and May 9.

» READ MORE: Spencer Turnbull has been hampered by injuries since his no-hitter. Now he’s aiming for a revival with the Phillies.

”That was most of it,” Thomson said. “It gives Wheeler an extra day off, Nola two extra days, and then after [Thursday], everybody gets an extra day. It worked out well.”

The Phillies haven’t disclosed their plan for Turnbull beyond this start, but he’s likely bound for a long-man role in the bullpen.

Not only did Suárez dominate hitters in April, but he did it quickly.

In his last four starts, Suárez allowed one earned run in 30 innings for a 0.30 ERA. The time of game in those starts: 2 hours, 15 minutes at home against the Pirates (April 11); 2:07 at home against the Rockies (April 16); 2:02 at Cincinnati (April 22); 2:09 at San Diego (April 27).

Suárez is the first pitcher in baseball to win four consecutive starts in 2:15 or less since Roy Halladay from Sept. 1-17, 2003, for the Blue Jays.

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Alec Bohm was named NL player of the week after going 17-for-30 with a homer, eight RBIs, eight doubles, one walk, six runs scored, and slugging .933 with a .581 on-base percentage in seven games last week. He’s the second Phillies player in as many weeks to earn the distinction after Trea Turner. … Kyle Schwarber became the second-fastest player to hit 100 homers for the Phillies, reaching the mark Friday night in his 342nd game with the team. Ryan Howard bashed No. 100 in his 325th game with the Phillies. … Turnbull will be opposed Tuesday night by Angels lefty Tyler Anderson (2-3, 1.78). Wheeler (2-3, 1.93) will face lefty Patrick Sandoval (1-4, 6.33) in Wednesday’s matinee series finale.