The 34-year-old Stassi had not yet officially announced his retirement as a player. He’s apparently entering the next phase of his career after spending parts of 10 seasons in the major leagues. Stassi spent last season in Triple-A in the Giants organization, although he spent most of the year on the minor league injured list. His last MLB appearance came in 2022 with the Halos.
Originally a fourth-round pick of the A’s, Stassi was traded to the Astros before reaching Double-A. He made his debut with Houston in 2013 and spent the next few seasons as the third catcher on the organizational depth chart. Stassi technically played parts of seven big league seasons with the Astros, but he only combined for 163 games during that stretch. Only once did he play more than 31 games in a season.
The Angels acquired Stassi in what seemed like a small trade at the 2019 deadline. He struggled down the stretch, but exceeded expectations in subsequent seasons. Stassi hit .278 with seven home runs in 31 games during the shortened 2020 schedule. He threw a career-high 13 longballs with a .241/.326/.426 batting line over 319 trips to the plate a year later.
Stassi signed a three-year, $17.5 million extension through the 2022 season. The Halos gave him the lion’s share of the work behind the dish, with Kurt Suzuki serving as a backup catcher. Stassi racked up 375 career plate appearances, but slumped to a .180/.267/.303 batting line. Unfortunately, that will go down as his last MLB action. He missed the entire ’23 season – first due to a hip injury, then he took care of a family situation after his son was born three months premature and spent several months in the NICU.
The Angels traded Stassi to the Braves as part of the dead money shakeup during the 2023-24 offseason. Atlanta immediately released him, leading to a free agent deal with the White Sox. Stassi’s troublesome hip caused him to start the season back on the injured list, and he underwent season-ending surgery in July. He also couldn’t stay healthy in the minors last season, so he’s now transitioning to coaching. He ends his playing days with a .212/.295/.361 slash with 41 home runs in just over 400 games. He drove in 128 runs and scored 241 hits.
Stassi’s move into coaching comes courtesy of his old team and the staff of his former catching buddy. Suzuki is entering his first season as an MLB manager. They brought in an experienced bench coach in John Gibbons and a highly respected veteran pitching coach in Mike Maddux. Adam Eaton gets his first MLB coaching opportunity as first base/outfield coach.
Johnson and Schatzley had both been managers in the Halos farm system: Johnson at Triple-A Salt Lake, Schatzley at Double-A Rocket City. Johnson, 54, has led the organization for fourteen years. He had previously worked on the MLB staff as an infield coach and a few seasons as the Marlins’ first base coach. He played in six games for the Angels in 2000, his only major league playing experience. Schatzley, 41, has spent the past five seasons in the system after spending nearly a decade in the college ranks. This is his first role on an MLB staff.
#Angels #hire #Max #Stassi #catching #coach