Wallach signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Wallach will return to the Angels organization for a third season after slashing .188/.254/.354 with the major-league club across the past two years. Los Angeles already has plenty of options behind the plate at the big-league level, so Wallach will likely fill in as organizational depth with Triple-A Salt Lake.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Wallach elected free agency Tuesday.
Wallach had been outrighted off the Angels' 40-man roster. The 31-year-old saw his most extensive big-league action to date in 2023 but produced just a .635 OPS in 65 contests for the Halos.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Selected from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Angels selected Wallach's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Wallach was pushed off the 40-man roster earlier this month, but he's needed again to back up Logan O'Hoppe with Matt Thaiss (shoulder) landing on the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Wallach was designated for assignment Friday.
Wallach has played 10 games in August, going 3-for-18 in 19 plate appearances. Only one of those hits went for extra bases, and his last home run came on the final day of July. In a corresponding move, Logan O'Hoppe was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Breaks through with three hits
Rotowire
Wallach went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs Monday in a 4-1 win against Atlanta.
In Wallach's previous start (Thursday against Detroit), he hit a single to snap a brutal 0-for-38 slump. The backstop made a much bigger impact Monday, contributing a massive 441-foot solo shot in the sixth inning and finishing with his second three-hit game of the campaign. Wallach's recent hitless stretch resulted in him losing playing time and falling behind Matt Thaiss on the catcher depth chart, but Thaiss has been struggling too -- he's batting .146 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate since the All-Star break -- so Wallach could find himself with more opportunities if he's able to build upon Monday's performance.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Losing work to Thaiss
Rotowire
Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
After going 0-for-20 with nine strikeouts over his last eight games, Wallach appears to have lost hold of the Angels' No. 1 catching gig, a role he appeared to have poached from Matt Thaiss a couple weeks ago. Thaiss will pick up his fourth start behind the plate in five games in place of the slumping Wallach.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Sits down Saturday
Rotowire
Wallach isn't in the Angels' lineup Saturday against Arizona, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wallach put together a five-game hitting streak in mid-June, but he's now 0-for-20 with nine strikeouts across his last eight games. Matt Thaiss will start behind the dish Saturday for the Angels and bat sixth.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Out of lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Wallach isn't in the Angels' lineup Wednesday against the White Sox, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wallach has traded starts back and forth with Matt Thaiss since Saturday, and Wednesday marks Thaiss' turn to start behind the dish. Wallach is 0-for-18 at the plate across his last seven games.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Sitting Monday
Rotowire
Wallach isn't in the Angels' lineup Monday against the White Sox, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wallach is 0-for-16 across his last six games, so he'll take a day off Monday to regroup. Matt Thaiss will take over behind the dish and bat seventh.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Swats sixth homer
Rotowire
Wallach went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday in a 5-3 victory over the Rangers.
Wallach opened the scoring in the contest with a 424-foot solo shot to center field. The homer extended his modest hitting streak to five games, during which he's gone 5-for-11 with two long balls, three RBI and four runs. Wallach has launched six home runs and is slashing .280/.341/.547 in just 82 plate appearances on the campaign. Those solid numbers are starting to earn him more playing time, as Wallach has started behind the plate in each of the Angels' past three contests.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Extends lead in 12th
Rotowire
Wallach went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run during Monday's victory over the Rangers.
Wallach didn't start the game but entered in the 10th inning as a defensive replacement. He got his first at-bat in the 12th and took advantage, smashing a two-run home run to extend the Angels' lead to 9-5. With Max Stassi (personal) and Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) unavailable, Wallach continues to serve as the primary backup to Matt Thaiss and has seen sporadic playing time, slashing .273/.324/.515 with five home runs and 10 RBI across 27 games (71 plate appearances).
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Returns to bench
Rotowire
Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Wallach was behind the dish for each of the Angels' last three games and went 1-for-5 with three walks and two runs, but he still appears to be the No. 2 option at catcher behind Matt Thaiss. According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News, Angels manager Phil Nevin noted prior to Sunday's contest that Thaiss had been battling a minor hip issue, which may have explained Wallach's increased usage of late.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Homers in return from IL
Rotowire
Wallach went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Monday's 9-5 win over the Orioles.
Wallach was activated off the 7-day injured list and made his first start Monday since May 6. The catcher looked sharp in his return, recording his first three-hit game of the season while hitting his first home run since April 24. Matt Thaiss will likely get the bulk of starts at catcher when the Angels are facing right-handed pitching, but Wallach is the clear No. 2 with Max Stassi (personal/hip) and Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) both unavailable for the foreseeable future.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Activated, starting Monday
Rotowire
Wallach (concussion) will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Orioles after the Angels reinstated him from the 7-day injured list, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Wallach ended up spending just over the minimum amount of time on the shelf with what was an apparently mild concussion. Though Wallach will get the nod behind the dish in the series opener in Baltimore, the lefty-hitting Matt Thaiss -- who owns a solid .767 OPS on the season -- could end up getting the bulk of the starts at catcher when the Angels face right-handed pitching.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: On track for Monday return
Rotowire
Wallach (concussion) is feeling much better and is on track to return Monday against the Orioles, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Wallach was placed on the 7-day injured list Tuesday, but thankfully his concussion appears to be a minor one. His return will presumably push Chris Okey back to the minors.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Heads to injured list
Rotowire
The Angels placed Wallach on the 7-day injured list Tuesday while he tends to a concussion and a stiff neck, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.
Wallach will miss at least a week as he recovers from the head and neck injuries he suffered in Sunday's 16-8 loss to the Rangers. Catcher Chris Okey will be called up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take Wallach's place on the roster.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Dealing with sore neck
Rotowire
Wallach woke up with a sore neck before Sunday's game against the Rangers and he'll test it out during pregame activities Monday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Wallach wasn't likely to play Monday anyway against right-hander Hunter Brown, but his availability off the bench will be determined in large part by how he looks in the pre-game workout. The Angels have Chris Okey up on the taxi squad, so it's possible the team could bring up Okey to be the backup backstop if they determine Wallach needs a short stint on the injured list.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Hits bench again Sunday
Rotowire
Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
On the bench for the third time in four games, Wallach may have ceded the Angels' No. 1 catcher role to Matt Thaiss for the time being. Both backstops will likely see their opportunities take a hit whenever Max Stassi (hip/personal) is cleared to return from the 10-day injured list, though that's not likely to happen for several weeks.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: On bench Sunday
Rotowire
Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Wallach may have at least temporarily eclipsed Matt Thaiss on the Angels' depth chart at catcher. Wallach started each of the past three games, though he reached base just two times in 10 trips to the plate.
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Angels' Chad Wallach: Cranks homer in season debut
Rotowire
Wallach went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's victory over the Royals.
Wallach was called up after Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list. In his first big league appearance of 2023, he provided the only offense of the night with his two-run shot. The 30-year-old is a .199 career hitter with five homers in 91 career games, however.
