Comments coming out of Los Angeles could take a Cubs trade target off the board

Looking to replicate the Kansas City Royals' jaw-dropping turnaround, the Los Angeles Angels are apparently looking to be contenders in 2025. At least that's the tale team owner Arte Moreno is out there spinning after watching his club set a franchise record with 99 losses this season.

"We have a plan to try to add players that are going to help us compete," Moreno told the Orange County Register. "Perry's marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen."

After wasting six years of Shohei Ohtani and nearly a decade-and-a-half of Mike Trout, two of this generation's greatest talents, and signing what may very well be the worst free agent deal of all time in Anthony Rendon, it would take a dramatic change-of-pace for the Angels to be taken seriously at this point.

Cubs remain in the market for an upgrade at the catcher position

But this about-face could have implications for the Chicago Cubs, who reportedly tried to pry away young catcher Logan O'Hoppe from the Angels at this summer's trade deadline. If Los Angeles is looking to contend, it's hard to see why they'd move on from a 24-year-old backstop who was worth 2.1 fWAR this year.

Catching remains a top area of focus for Jed Hoyer and the Chicago front office and rightfully so. Miguel Amaya salvaged what was shaping up to be a disastrous season with a strong second half, but went into an offensive tailspin in September, which only re-surfaced the concerns from earlier in the year. The Cubs pieced together a catching tandem with pieces off the scrap pile down the stretch, but they need more consistent production from the position in 2025.

O'Hoppe fits the bill of what the Cubs are looking for - a young, talented catcher with plenty of team control and potential. He's not the only one that fits that description in the league, but all share a commonality: they won't come cheap. But given a light free-agent class devoid of impact options, the Cubs may be forced to play ball and finally part with top prospects from their highly-rated farm system.