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Matt Thaiss

White Sox Acquire Matt Thaiss From Cubs

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The Chicago teams have lined up on a minor trade. The White Sox acquired catcher Matt Thaiss from the Cubs for cash, the teams announced. The Sox had an opening on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.

Thaiss was only an offseason acquisition for the Cubs. They landed him from the Angels in a cash trade last month. He had a path to backup job behind Miguel Amaya at the time. That’s no longer on the table. Chicago signed Carson Kelly to a two-year free agent deal last week. Amaya and Kelly will split the catching reps at Wrigley Field.

Kelly’s signing made a Thaiss move all but inevitable. He’s out of options, so the Cubs couldn’t send him to the minors without putting him on waivers. Teams rarely carry three catchers on the active roster for an entire season. The Cubs could have carried Thaiss into Spring Training as injury insurance, but they’d likely have been squeezed into a roster move if their top two catchers were healthy on Opening Day.

Trading Thaiss now gives him some clarity and opens a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, which had been at capacity. Thaiss has a decent chance at breaking camp on the South Side. Korey Lee had a .210/.244/.347 showing in a career-high 394 plate appearances this past season. Chuckie Robinson, who has 51 MLB appearances and turned 30 this week, was the only other catcher on the 40-man roster.

The Sox have a pair of highly-regarded catching prospects, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, who aren’t far off major league readiness. They were each the headliners of recent trades. Teel led a four-prospect return from the Red Sox in last week’s Garrett Crochet deal, while Quero was the big piece in the 2023 deadline deal that sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Halos. Both players should make their big league debuts next season, though they might each open the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

Thaiss, a left-handed hitter, brings more on-base ability than Lee provides. He’s a career .208/.313/.342 hitter who posted a .204/.323/.299 slash across 186 plate appearances with the Angels this year. Thaiss takes plenty of pitches, which allows him to work a lot of walks but contributes to lofty strikeout rates. He has never graded as a particularly strong defender, which led the Angels to move him from catcher to first base early in his minor league career. He moved back behind the dish in 2022 but grades as a below-average pitch framer with subpar arm strength.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/22/24

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The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.

These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.

Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.

All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day/evening as deals are announced and/or reported.

  • The Mets announced that they have agreed to a one-year contract with right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, though salary figures have not yet been reported. He was projected for a $900K salary next year after posting a 1.66 ERA but in just 21 2/3 innings due to injury.
  • The Rangers announced they avoided arbitration with right-hander Josh Sborz, who was projected for a $1.3MM salary next year. He’ll come in just shy of that at $1.1MM, per Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today (X link). He underwent a shoulder debridement procedure recently, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) and will likely miss the first two or three months of 2025.
  • The Tigers and infielder Andy Ibanez have agreed to a salary of $1.4MM next year, per Francys Romero (X link). That’s a shade below his $1.5MM projection. Ibanez hit .241/.295/.357 in 99 games for the Tigers in 2024.
  • The Guardians avoided arbitration with right-hander Ben Lively, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (X link). He’ll make $2.25MM next year, below his $3.2MM projection. Lively had a 3.81 ERA in 151 innings for the Guards this year.
  • The Cubs and right-hander Julian Merryweather have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $1.225MM, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). That’s just shy of his $1.3MM projection. Merryweather had a 6.60 ERA in 2024 but was injured most of the time and only made 15 appearances. He had a solid 3.38 ERA the year prior in 72 innings. The Cubs also agreed to terms with catcher Matt Thaiss and righty Keegan Thompson, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (X link), though salary figures have not yet been reported.
  • The Blue Jays got a deal done with right-hander Erik Swanson, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet on X. The righty was projected for $3.2MM next year but will make a smidge less than that, with Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (X link) relaying that Swanson will make $3MM. He had a 5.03 ERA in 2024 but was at 2.97 the year prior and also finished this year strong, with a 2.55 ERA in the second half.
  • The Yankees reached agreement with center fielder Trent Grisham on a $5MM salary, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN (on X). The deal contains another $250K in incentives. The two-time Gold Glove winner had been projected at $5.7MM. Grisham had an underwhelming .190/.290/.385 showing during his first season in the Bronx. The Yankees will nevertheless keep him around for his final year of arbitration, presumably in a fourth outfield capacity. The Yankees also announced that they have a deal with righty JT Brubaker, though figures haven’t been reported. He was projected for a salary of $2.275MM, the same figure he made in 2023 and 2024, two seasons he missed while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • The Rockies reached deals with outfielder Sam Hilliard and lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath, Feinsand reports (on X). Hilliard gets $1MM, while Gilbreath signed for $785K. Both figures come in shy of the respective $1.7MM and $900K projections. Hilliard popped 10 home runs over 58 games as a depth outfielder. Gilbreath only made three appearances after missing the entire ’23 season to Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.19 ERA across 43 innings two years ago.

Earlier Agreements

  • The Dodgers and right-hander Tony Gonsolin have agreed to a $5.4MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link), an exact match for his projection. He had signed a two-year, $6.65MM deal to cover the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He made 20 starts for the Dodgers in the first year of that pact but he missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • The Guardians and Sam Hentges have agreed to a $1.337MM deal, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. That’s right in line with his projected $1.4MM salary. The left-hander has been an effective reliever for Cleveland over the past three seasons (2.93 ERA, 2.82 SIERA, 138 IP), but he missed the latter half of 2024 with a shoulder injury. After undergoing surgery in September, he will miss the entire 2025 season.
  • The Orioles and infielder Emmanuel Rivera agreed to a $1MM deal, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’d been projected at $1.4MM. He hit .238/.312/.343 this year.
  • Right-hander Brock Stewart and the Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth $870K, MLBTR has learned. He’d been projected at $800K. Stewart, who missed much of the season due to injury, can earn another $30K via incentives. He’s been lights-out for the Twins when healthy over the past two seasons (2.28 ERA, 33.5 K%, 10.8 BB%). Minnesota and righty Michael Tonkin also agreed to a $1MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’d been projected at $1.5MM. The Twins later announced that they had reached deals with Stewart, Tonkin and righty Justin Topa. Hewas projected for $1.3MM next year but will come in just shy of that in terms of guarantee. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune (Bluesky link), it’s a $1.225MM guarantee in the form of a $1MM salary and then a $225K buyout on a $2MM club option for 2026.
  • The Padres and Tyler Wade agreed to a one-year deal worth $900K, Heyman tweets. There’s a club option for an additional season. Wade, who hit .217/.285/.239 in 2024, was projected for that same $900K figure.
  • Infielder Santiago Espinal and the Reds settled on a one-year deal at $2.4MM, Heyman tweets. That’s well shy of his $4MM projection and actually represents a slight pay cut after Espinal hit .246/.295/.356 for Cincinnati.
  • The Rangers and righty Dane Dunning agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.66MM, Heyman reports. It’s a 19% cut after Dunning struggled to a 5.31 ERA in 95 innings this past season. He was projected at $4.4MM.
  • The Giants and right-hander Austin Warren agreed to terms on a one-year deal, reports Justice de los Santos of the San Jose Mercury News. He missed most of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned late with 10 2/3 innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve signed catcher/outfielder Eric Haase to a one-year deal for the upcoming season. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports that the deal guarantees Haase $1.35MM with the chance to earn more via incentives. He’d been projected for a $1.8MM salary. Haase will fill the backup catcher role in Milwaukee next season. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.
  • The Dodgers and right-hander Dustin May settled at $2.135MM, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X link). That’s the exact same salary he had in 2024. May will be looking to bounce back after spending all of this year on the injured list.
  • The Phillies and right-hander José Ruiz settled at $1.225MM, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). That’s slightly above his $1.2MM projection. The righty can also unlock a $20K bonus for pitching in 30 games and $25K for pitching in 40. He made 52 appearances for the Phils in 2024 with a 3.71 ERA. Philadelphia also announced agreement with backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on a one-year deal. The Phils did not reveal the salary figure. Stubbs hit .207 in 54 games this year.
  • The Tigers and infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry agreed to a $1.65MM salary for 2025, per Robert Murray of FanSided (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X). That’s slightly ahead of his $1.3MM projection. He hit .215/.277/.337 this year while stealing 16 bases and playing each position except or first base and catcher,

Cubs Acquire Matt Thaiss

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The Angels announced that they have traded catcher Matt Thaiss to the Cubs for cash considerations. The Halos had designated him for assignment last week. The Cubs have designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment to open a roster spot, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune on X.

Thaiss, 30 in May, leaves the Angels for the first time in his professional career. He was a first-round pick of that club in 2016, getting taken 16th overall. He was a catcher in college but the Angels announced him as a corner infielder when they drafted him, clearly more interested in his bat.

As he worked his way up the minor leagues, he did indeed show that his offense could be an asset. He hit .279/.363/.445 for a 117 wRC+ across multiple minor league levels from 2016 to 2019. However, his major league work hasn’t been nearly as impressive. At this point, he has 771 big league plate appearances with a .208/.313/.342 line and 83 wRC+.

That production would be unacceptable for a corner infielder but not bad by backup catcher standards. The Halos often had a crowded mix of guys vying for playing time as the designated hitter or the corner spots over the years, such as Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon, Jared Walsh and others. That prompted them to move Thaiss back behind the plate in 2021. Most metrics view Thaiss as a subpar defender back there, perhaps not surprising for a guy who spent several years away from that spot.

Though he’s been a passable backup to Logan O’Hoppe in recent years, the Angels decided to move on. After Travis d’Arnaud was let go by Atlanta, the Halos quickly swooped in and signed him to a two-year deal. That nudged Thaiss down to #3 on the catching chart. Since he’s out of options, they designated him for assignment, which led to today’s deal.

For the Cubs, he’s a sensible landing spot for now, as they have question marks behind the plate. They released Yan Gomes in June, Tomás Nido in August and then outrighted Christian Bethancourt in November. Prior to acquiring Thaiss, Miguel Amaya was the only catcher on their 40-man roster. It was reported back in August that they would be looking for catching help this winter.

Amaya performed well down the stretch for the Cubs but was subpar for the season overall. He’s out of options and not far removed from being a top prospect, so he probably has a decent grip on a roster spot, but he’s far from established as a big leaguer. He has 170 major league games under his belt with a .227/.300/.357 batting line and 87 wRC+.

Perhaps the Cubs envision a platoon arrangement, since Amaya hits from the right side and Thaiss from the left, though Amaya has reverse splits in his short career so far. It’s also possible that the Cubs will sign a more established catcher and try to pass Thaiss through waivers later in the offseason. Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka and Carson Kelly are just some of the many backstops available in free agency.

Perhaps Moisés Ballesteros will be a factor as well, as he is considered one of the top 100 prospects in the game and has reached Triple-A. However, he has only 68 games at that level and is still just 21 years old, so keeping him on the farm a little longer is also possible.

Time will tell if the Cubs continue addressing their catching mix throughout the winter, but for now, they’ve taken a flier on a sensible stopgap. For what was surely a small amount of money in baseball terms, they’ve added an experienced catcher with an intriguing past pedigree, without doing anything to block the possibility of other moves down the road.

Wingenter, 31, was just claimed off waivers in August and made five appearances for the Cubs late in the 2024 season. They could have retained him for next season via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.4MM salary next year. It seems they didn’t plan on doing that, so they have sent him into DFA limbo today. They will have a few days to see if there’s any trade interest, but he could end up back on waivers or non-tendered later this week. In his 95 1/3 major league innings, he has a 5.66 earned run average, 30.5% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate.

Angels Designate Matt Thaiss For Assignment

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The Angels have designated catcher Matt Thaiss for assignment, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times on X. That’s the corresponding move for the club signing infielder Kevin Newman, as was reported earlier.

Thaiss, 30 in May, now seems likely to depart the Angels for the first time in his professional career. He was their first round pick in 2016, getting selected 16th overall. Though he was a catcher in college, the Angels valued him more for his offensive abilities and immediately moved him to a corner infield role upon drafting him. He continued to show good talent with a bat in his hands as he worked his way towards the majors, hitting .279/.363/.445 for a 117 wRC+ across multiple minor league levels from 2016 to 2019.

But that production didn’t translate to the major leagues when he was promoted. He hit .202 /.291/.405 in 2019 and 2020, his first 189 plate appearances in the big leagues. The Halos had a fairly crowded group of guys battling for playing time at the infield corners and designated hitter back then, including Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh, Anthony Rendon and Albert Pujols, so they decided in 2021 to move Thaiss back behind the plate.

His major league offense still hasn’t developed as hoped. He’s now up to 771 career plate appearances with a .208/.313/.342 line, 29.3% strikeout rate and 83 wRC+. That’s actually not bad by backup catcher standards. Catchers overall tend to be roughly 10% below average at the plate, including a league-wide 91 wRC+ for backstops in 2024. But his defense hasn’t been especially well regarded, perhaps unsurprising for a guy who was away from the position for a few years.

On top of that lackluster performance, Thaiss has exhausted his option years, meaning he could no longer be easily sent to the minors. The Angels have seen Logan O’Hoppe emerge as their primary catcher and they just brought in Travis d’Arnaud to serve as a veteran complement for the next two years. Given all those factors, Thaiss was squeezed off the roster and perhaps to another club for the first time in his career.

DFA limbo can last up to a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, meaning the Angels will have five days to see if there’s any trade interest from other teams. His major league track record is obviously not too impressive but it’s possible there will be interest regardless. Catching help is almost always in demand and it’s also possible some team thinks they can help Thaiss unlock something at the plate if they have him give up on the catching thing altogether. His 12.6% walk rate to this point in his career is quite strong, but he has struck out a lot and hasn’t done much damage when he does put the bat on the ball.

Thaiss just crossed three years of service time in 2024, meaning he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $1.3MM salary next year, not much above the $760K league minimum. If any club acquires him via trade or a waiver claim, he can theoretically be retained through 2027 via arbitration, though that coming to fruition would be contingent on him taking a step forward in terms of his performance.

Teams like the Rays, Blue Jays, Padres, Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, Braves and others could be on the lookout for catching help this offseason. If any of them view Thaiss as a viable option, they’ll be calling the Angels in the coming days. Or as mentioned, perhaps some club is intrigued enough by the walks or the minor league track record to view Thaiss as a potential late-blooming hitter.

Angels Sign Travis d’Arnaud To Two-Year Deal

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The Angels announced that they have signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. That pact reportedly comes with a $12MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. Right-hander Guillo Zuñiga has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The Halos have also hired Sal Fasano, who was with Atlanta as catching coach until being fired last month, as an assistant pitching coach.

d’Arnaud, 36 in February, has been with Atlanta for the past few years. However, that club declined an $8MM club option to keep him around for the 2025, sending him to the open market last week. The veteran has quickly landed on his feet with a new deal at a slightly lower average annual value but with an additional guaranteed season.

His time with Atlanta has consisted of a series of deals, all with an AAV of $8MM. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal going into 2020, followed by a two-year, $16MM extension signed late in 2021. Midway through 2023, he and the club agreed to a one-year, $8MM extension for 2024 with an $8MM club option for 2025.

During that stretch, he has missed some time due to injury and his offense has been up-and-down, but it’s generally amounted to solid production. He got into 384 games over his five years with the club, hitting 60 home runs and slashing .251/.312/.443 for a 106 wRC+. His defense was generally well regarded, allowing him to produce 9.3 wins above replacement over that time, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

Despite his competent performance, Atlanta decided to move on. Perhaps that was due to budgetary constraints or the emergence of prospect Drake Baldwin, who is knocking on the door. Either way, that club’s catching tandem is shifting. It has been d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy in recent years but Murphy will need a new partner, whether that’s Baldwin or someone else.

The Angels will be hoping that Atlanta’s loss will be their gain. They already have a strong catcher in Logan O’Hoppe, who doesn’t turn 25 years old until February and can be controlled through the 2028 season, but d’Arnaud can act in a veteran/backup role.

The only other backstop on the Angels’ 40-man roster is Matt Thaiss, who is out of options. General manager Perry Minasian said today that they are still figuring out plans with Thaiss, per Sam Blum of The Athletic on X. Perhaps Thaiss will move to another position but the club could also carry three catchers or make Thaiss available in trades. He is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $1.3MM. The non-tender deadline is November 22, so perhaps some more clarity on his status will emerge between now and then.

It’s possible that Minasian has been waiting for his opportunity to reconnect with d’Arnaud, as he has quickly gotten a deal done shortly after the veteran became available. Minasian worked as a scout for the Blue Jays from 2009 to 2017. It was during that time that d’Arnaud, still a prospect, was traded to the Jays as part of the December 2009 Roy Halladay blockbuster. He would later be traded to the Mets as part of the December 2012 deal that brought R.A. Dickey to Toronto.

Atlanta’s current general manager Alex Anthopoulos was the GM for the Jays for both of those trades and also seemingly made it a priority to reunite with d’Arnaud a few years back. The overlapping careers of Minasian and Anthopoulos have apparently led to good relations extending into the present, as the two clubs have been frequent trade partners of late. Since Minasian was hired in November of 2020, the two clubs have connected on the August 2022 Raisel Iglesias deal, the December 2023 David Fletcher trade, the Jorge Soler deal from a few weeks ago and some other minor swaps. Angels’ manager Ron Washington was also on Atlanta’s coaching staff before joining the Halos.

Today’s news isn’t a trade but it adds to the track record of interchange between the clubs, with the Angels acquiring both d’Arnaud and Fasano after they had been let go from Atlanta. Fasano started his coaching career in 2009 in the minor league system of the Jays when both Minasian and Anthopoulos were there. In the fall of 2017, around the same time Anthopoulos was hired by Atlanta, Fasano got a job as a catching coach with that organization. He held that job until he was dismissed a few weeks ago, though he and d’Arnaud will be reuniting with Minasian in Anaheim.

The move brings the Angels’ projected payroll to $174MM, per RosterResource. That’s above the $170MM they had to start 2024, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Owner Arte Moreno has said that the payroll will go up next year, though it’s unclear exactly how high they plan to go. For clubs that missed out on d’Arnaud, the free agent market still features Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka, Carson Kelly and others.

Zuñiga, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in February. He has 19 2/3 innings of major league experience with a 5.03 earned run average. In the minors, he has posted some decent strikeout numbers but walks have occasionally been an issue. He has thrown 113 2/3 innings in the minors over the past three years with a 5.62 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.

He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last a week, as the Angels figure out whether to trade him or put him on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so a trade would need to come together in the next five days. His fastball averaged 96.9 miles per hour in the big leagues this year and he still has an option season remaining, which could perhaps intrigue other clubs around the league.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first relayed the $12MM guarantee for d’Arnaud (X link). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first noted the Zuñiga DFA (X link). Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed the Fasano hire (X link).

Several Angels Players Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest

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According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels have received trade interest on several of their controllable players this offseason. Infielder Luis Rengifo, catcher Matt Thaiss, left-hander Jose Suarez as well as outfielders Taylor Ward and Mickey Moniak are all pieces who have reportedly been asked after to this point in the winter.

That clubs would see the Angels as a potential trade partner is hardly a surprise. With Shohei Ohtani having departed the club in favor of Chavez Ravine, the club figures to be all but forced to begin a significant retool of their roster if they hope to improve upon their consecutive 73-win campaigns in 2022 and ’23 even after parting ways with the most valuable player in the sport.

While that could see the club dabble in the free agent market, where they’ve been connected to left-hander Blake Snell and veteran slugger J.D. Martinez recently, it seems unlikely the club would be able to completely retool their roster just through free agency even as RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of just $153MM next season, more than $60MM below their payroll in 2023. As such, it’s hardly a surprise that the Angels would consider exploring the trade market, particularly given reports earlier this month that they have been aggressive in their pursuit of starting pitching via trade.

With all that being said, each of the rumored players garnering interest are controllable, inexpensive pieces who could prove key to Anaheim’s hopes of contending in 2024 and beyond. According to Rosenthal, the club’s willingness to deal any of the aforementioned players could hinge on the willingness of ownership to spend to replace the outgoing talent on the open market. It’s possible that between money spent on a replacement and the trade return the club could receive for their controllable talent, the Angels could improve their overall outlook even by trading away a fairly key piece in their current 2024 outlook.

Rengifo, 27 in February, is coming off the best season of his career in 2023. After entering the All Star break with a mediocre .219/.312/.326 slash line, the switch-hitter caught fire down the stretch with a .318/.374/.587 the rest of the way until his season came to an end due to a torn biceps tendon that ended up requiring surgery. With Rengifo expected to be ready for Spring Training, however, it’s easy to see why rival clubs would be interested in his services. Overall, Rengifo posted a solid 114 wRC+ while playing passable defense all around the diamond, with time spent at second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots over the course of the 2023 season. That positional flexibility paired with a solid bat would make Rengifo a worthwhile addition for most any team, and the fact that he can be controlled for two seasons surely makes him all the more enticing for rival clubs, and the presence of Brandon Drury could allow the Angels to replace Rengifo at the keystone fairly seamlessly.

Thaiss and Suarez, on the other hand, are not quite as obviously enticing as Rengifo. Thaiss slashed just .214/.319/.340 overall last season in 307 trips to the plate while posting average defensive marks behind the plate, while Suarez missed most of 2024 with shoulder issues and struggled to a 9.62 ERA in six starts prior to that trip to the IL.  With that being said, each could nonetheless be of interest to clubs.

Catching depth is always something clubs are on the hunt for, and Thaiss offers an average bat and glove for the role with enough offensive potential that he could even have further upside as a tandem catching option should his offense take a step forward at some point. Thaiss also bats left-handed, making him a potentially useful pinch-hitter off the bench on days where he isn’t catching. Suarez, meanwhile, was an extremely valuable lefty swingman for the Angels in 2021 and ’22, with a 3.86 ERA across 207 1/3 innings of work. Given the fact that Suarez and Thaiss are controllable for three and four more seasons respectively, they’d be affordable options for clubs in need of a catcher or flexible pitcher who can throw from the left side.

It’s easy to see why Ward and Moniak would be attractive to rival clubs, but they may be difficult for the Halos to part with this offseason. Ward has become one of the club’s steadiest offensive producers in recent years, with a .265/.349/.446 slash line in 297 games since the start of the 2021 campaign. Ward is likely penciled in for everyday duty in one of the outfield corners not only for 2024, but for seasons to come, as he won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 campaign. Moniak, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakout season in his first full season as an Angel in 2023, slashing a respectable .280/.307/.495 with a wRC+ of 114 in 85 games. Moniak is also the club’s best option in center field besides Mike Trout, who has dealt with injuries more and more frequently in recent years and may benefit from additional rest in the form of occasional DH starts as he stares down his 33rd birthday in August.

In terms of the potential return headed to Anaheim should any of these players be dealt, it’s easy to assume the club would focus on bolstering their pitching staff in any deal. The club posted a respectable 101 wRC+ as a team in 2023, and while that includes the incredible production of Ohtani, its fair to point out that healthy seasons from the likes of Trout and Ward as well as continued development from key youngsters like Nolan Schanuel, Logan O’Hoppe and Zach Neto could all help the club make up for some of Ohtani’s lost production.

By contrast, the team posted an ERA of just 4.64 in 2023 even with Ohtani contributing 132 innings of 3.14 ERA baseball. The rest of the club’s rotation was essentially league average, with Patrick Sandoval’s 4.11 ERA (109 ERA+) leading the pack. Meanwhile, the club’s bullpen posted a disastrous 4.88 ERA that ranked bottom-six in the majors last year. Given those massive shortcomings, the addition of impactful pitching talent figures to be the Halos’ best hope of getting Trout back to the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Angels Select Chad Wallach, Designate Chris Devenski For Assignment

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The Angels announced that catcher Matt Thaiss has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 24, due to right shoulder inflammation. Fellow catcher Chad Wallach has been selected to the roster as his replacement. To open a 40-man spot for Wallach, right-hander Chris Devenski was reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment.

Wallach, 31, served as part of the club’s catching duo alongside Thaiss for much of the year. The Angels had originally planned on having Max Stassi and Logan O’Hoppe behind the plate but both ended up spending significant time on the injured list, bumping Thaiss and Wallach to the top of the depth chart. But when O’Hoppe returned from the IL last week, Wallach got designated for assignment, eventually clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment. With Thaiss now set to miss an undetermined amount of time, Wallach has his roster spot back.

In 58 games for the Halos this season, Wallach struck out in 34.2% of his plate appearances but launched seven home runs. His .209/.279/.403 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 84, indicating he’s been below average overall, but fairly solid by backup catcher standards. He also produced two Defensive Runs Saved and was just under average in terms of framing. He can be retained for next year via arbitration but is out of options.

Devenski has made 29 relief appearances for the Halos on the season. The veteran has a 5.06 ERA across 33 2/3 innings despite generally solid underlying marks. Devenski has a decent 23.6% strikeout percentage and has walked only 6.4% of opposing hitters. He has kept the ball on the ground and missed bats on a respectable 11.9% of his offerings. Opponents have hit only .244/.295/.394 against him, but he’s had a hard time stranding the runners he does allow to reach base.

The 32-year-old Devenski has bounced around the league following a strong 2016-17 run with the Astros. He owns a 5.38 ERA in 175 2/3 frames between four clubs since the start of the 2018 season. The Halos will put him on waivers in the coming days. If he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect free agency.

The Silver Lining Of The Angels’ Catching Injuries

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The Angels came into 2023 with an apparent logjam behind the plate, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco examined back in February. Prospect Logan O’Hoppe had just been acquired from the Phillies at last year’s deadline and seemed ready for an extended big league audition. Max Stassi was coming off a rough 2022 season but the club committed to him with a $17.5MM extension at the start of that year. With those two seeming to be likeliest candidates for jobs on the major league roster, it looked like Matt Thaiss might get squeezed out.

Thaiss, now 28, had already been through some ups and downs prior to the 2023 season. He was considered a bat-first catcher when the Angels selected him in the first round of the 2016 draft, using the 16th overall pick to nab him. Since his bat was considered his standout tool, they decided to focus on that, moving him to first base and seemingly abandoning the idea of him catching.

He always hit well in the minors, with an overall batting line of .278/.367/.454 in 582 games down on the farm. However, he wasn’t able to hit the ground running in the big leagues. He first reached the majors in July of 2019 but hit just .211/.293/.422 in the second half of that season for a wRC+ of 86. Over the next three years, he would spend the vast majority of his time on optional assignment, only getting into 40 major league games over those campaigns. He struggled in his sporadic chances, hitting .196/.307/.299 for a 74 wRC+.

Coming into 2023, he was out of options on account of languishing in the minors for most of the previous three years, but he was on the catching depth chart again. Although the Angels had initially moved him to first base and had also tried him at third, they moved him back behind the plate in 2021. He got into 54 games as a catcher for Triple-A Salt Lake that year. In 2022, he was behind the plate for 45 more Triple-A games and 14 in the big leagues.

It seemed like a fork in the road was coming at the start of 2023. He was out of options and was blocked by one player with a longer major league track record as well as a younger and shinier prospect. Although Thaiss was a former first-round pick and had plenty of minor league success, it seemed like he was destined to be cut from the roster.

But a couple of plot twists have happened since then. Stassi opened the season on the injured list due to a hip strain and has stayed there due to an undisclosed family situation. That opened a door for Thaiss to stick on the Opening Day roster as O’Hoppe’s backup, but then O’Hoppe landed on the injured list himself just three weeks later. He was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder that required surgery, putting him out of action for four to six months.

In less than a month, Thaiss went from the roster bubble to the club’s top catching option. No club wants to lose its top two catchers, of course, but at least this finally created some runway for them to see what Thaiss could do in the big leagues.

Thankfully for both him and the Angels, it has been working out well so far. In 51 games, he’s received 155 plate appearances. His 27.1% strikeout rate is on the high side, but he’s paired that with an excellent 13.5% walk rate. Among catchers with at least 150 trips to the plate, only Will Smith and Adley Rutschman have walked at a higher clip. Thaiss has just three home runs, but his .267/.374/.382 batting line amounts to a 116 wRC+. That places him in the top five in the league among backstops over that threshold of 150 plate appearances.

Of course, it’s not a total shock that he’s performing well at the plate, since that’s always been considered his best skill and he’s always hit on the farm. But he’s also holding his own defensively. By each of Statcast’s Blocks Above Average and their Caught Stealing Above Average metrics, Thaiss is graded with a zero or exactly league average. That’s not going to blow anyone’s socks off, but it’s a nice outcome for a guy who’s always been considered bat-first and wasn’t even catching as of a few years ago. Thaiss is still considered slightly below league average by Defensive Runs Saved and FanGraphs’ framing metric, but he’s not killing the club back there.

It’s also worth mentioning that veteran Chad Wallach is holding up his end of the deal as well. Those Statcast metrics consider him a bit below average, but he’s hit six home runs and is slashing .247/.304/.482 for a wRC+ of 114. For a guy who signed a minor league deal and was fourth on the depth chart coming into the year, that’s excellent production.

Turning back to Thaiss, he may not be a superstar but he’s inflated his own stock significantly in a few months. The roster squeeze won’t be coming back anytime soon, since O’Hoppe probably won’t be back until rosters expand in September — if he returns at all this season. Stassi’s timeline is completely unknown. He still has one guaranteed year left on his extension at $7MM, plus a $500K buyout on a 2025 club option, but after a dismal campaign in 2022 and this year potentially being entirely lost, he’s won’t be guaranteed any roster spots going forward.

Thaiss came into this year with one year and 38 days of service time, meaning he will finish this season at 2.038. That will leave him shy of Super Two status, allowing the Angels to potentially retain him cheaply for next year and three more arbitration campaigns beyond that. His defense still seems like a work in progress, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect continued improvements there given his relatively short amount of time getting reacquainted with the position.

The Angels have often had star power from Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and others, but failed to succeed as a team due to injuries and a lack of depth. This year, they lost both of their primary catchers by the end of April, but it hasn’t been a disaster, with Thaiss and Wallach deserving credit for picking up the slack.

Jared Walsh, Max Stassi To Start Season On Injured List; Angels To Select Jake Lamb

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Angels first baseman Jared Walsh and catcher Max Stassi will begin the 2023 season on the injured list, tweets Sam Blum of The Athletic. Walsh is currently being plagued by headaches and insomnia, while Stassi is dealing with a hip injury. With that pair of IL stints, the Halos will carry top catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe and veteran corner infielder Jake Lamb on the Opening Day roster. Lamb, who’s in camp on a non-roster deal, will need to have his contract selected.

Walsh’s trip to the injured list is an unfortunate development for the Halos, given the resurgent showing he turned in this spring after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in 2022. The 29-year-old Walsh’s 2021 breakout sent him to the All-Star Game, and he finished out that season with a hearty .277/.340/.509 batting line and 29 homers. He hit just .215/.269/.374 in 2022 before landing on the injured list and undergoing surgery, but through 14 spring games in 2023 Walsh looked like his old self: .400/.512/.686 with a pair of homers and four doubles in 43 plate appearances. He’ll meet with a specialist to determine the root of his current issues.

With Walsh out, the veteran Lamb could step into the large half of a first base platoon. He’s had a monster spring, batting .324/.419/.595 with a pair of homers, four doubles and a 9-to-5 K/BB ratio in 43 plate appearances. Lamb hit 59 home runs as the D-backs’ regular third baseman back in 2016-17 but has since had his career derailed by shoulder injuries. He’s batted just .198/.310/.394 in 606 plate appearances since 2018 shoulder surgery. That said, Lamb is a .251/.339/.455 hitter against right-handed pitching.

There’s no timetable provided for Stassi’s return, but his trip to the IL paves the way for O’Hoppe, one of the sport’s top catching prospects, to open the season as the Angels’ primary starter. It also at least temporarily resolves the Angels’ dilemma with regard to catcher/first baseman Matt Thaiss, who’s out of minor league options. Thaiss will now slot in as the backup to O’Hoppe early on, and his experience at first base will also be a factor with Walsh sidelined.

O’Hoppe, 23, made his big league debut with the Angels late in the 2022 season but received just 16 plate appearances in five games. Acquired from the Phillies in the deadline deal that sent center fielder Brandon Marsh the other way, O’Hoppe posted a combined .283/.416/.544 batting line in 447 plate appearances between the Double-A affiliates for his two organizations.

With this Opening Day assignment, he’ll skip the Triple-A level entirely. He’s looked ready for the challenge in Cactus League play, batting .281/.361/.438 with a homer and a pair of doubles. O’Hoppe’s 13 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances are a red flag, but he’ll get the chance to prove he’s ready to step up as the organization’s long-term option behind the plate right now. Baseball America currently ranks O’Hoppe as the game’s No. 42 overall prospect.

Turning to the rest of the Halos’ roster, there’s further clarity being gained. While the Halos are still deciding who’ll round out the final spot in their six-man rotation, they’ve decided on carrying righty Andrew Wantz in the bullpen and, perhaps more interestingly, will run with offseason trade acquisition Gio Urshela as their Opening Day shortstop.

It’s long been expected that Urshela would see some time at shortstop in Anaheim, and he’ll get the nod over Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher. It bears mentioning that the Angels will face a lefty starter (Kyle Muller) on Opening Day, so getting Urshela’s right-handed bat into the lineup is particularly sensible. Whether he holds the shortstop job on an everyday basis will be seen, but he’s made a strong case for as much playing time as possible this spring, batting .382/.417/.471 with a double, a triple and just two strikeouts in 36 trips to the plate.

The Angels’ Catching Competition

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The Angels have made a number of acquisitions this offseason. GM Perry Minasian and his staff addressed virtually every area of the roster in some capacity. Hunter Renfroe came in via trade to bolster the outfield. Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury were brought aboard as infield help. Tyler Anderson signed a three-year deal for the rotation. Carlos Estévez and Matt Moore step into the bullpen mix.

The primary exception is behind the plate. While the Halos were tied to top free agent backstop Willson Contreras at the start of the winter, they ultimately head into Spring Training with a trio of catchers who were on the roster to finish last season. That’s not especially surprising — catcher never looked like the biggest area of concern for the group — but it represents one of the areas that’s least solidified at the moment.

Manager Phil Nevin told reporters this week he views the catching situation as an open competition going into camp (via Sam Blum of the Athletic). With that in mind, it’s worth examining the options at his disposal.

Acquired from the Phillies last summer in a surprising deadline deal that sent center fielder Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia, O’Hoppe is one of the sport’s top catching prospects. He’s been a minor leaguer of some regard for a few years running but took things to a new level last season. O’Hoppe spent the vast majority of 2022 with the Double-A affiliates for the respective clubs. He combined for a .283/.416/.544 line with 26 home runs, a massive 15.7% walk percentage and a modest 16.6% strikeout rate during his age-22 campaign.

At the very end of last season, the Halos rewarded O’Hoppe with his first MLB call. He appeared in only five games, far too small a sample upon which to draw any conclusions. The move was more about giving him an opportunity to get acclimated to an MLB atmosphere than in providing useable data for the front office to determine his readiness for 2023.

O’Hoppe is widely praised by prospect evaluators. Baseball America considers him the top young talent in the organization, placing him 42nd among prospects overall. The Athletic and ESPN each slot him towards the back half of their respective top 100 lists. All three outlets credit him for a well-rounded game with solid expected contributions on both sides of the ball.

He’s clearly far too advanced for Double-A. He has zero Triple-A experience and only a cup of coffee in the majors, though, so there’s certainly risk in turning over the primary job on a club that hopes to compete for a playoff spot right out of the gate. O’Hoppe is the organization’s hopeful catcher of the future. They’ll need to determine whether he’s ready to take that mantle immediately. He still has a full slate of minor league option years remaining.

Stassi is much more of a known quantity. 32 next month, he’s played in parts of 10 big league campaigns. Stassi only started garnering legitimate playing time in 2018, his sixth year logging some MLB action. Between 2018-21, he looked like one of the sport’s more underrated catchers. Over that stretch, Stassi hit .222/.306/.382. That’s roughly average output for a catcher, though the cumulative slash is weighed down by an atrocious 2019 season. He was an above-average hitting catcher in the other three years, including a .241/.326/.426 showing for the Halos in 2021.

The veteran paired that solid offense with consistently excellent marks from public defensive metrics. He wasn’t especially adept at controlling the running game but garnered glowing reviews from pitch framing evaluations. The Halos signed him to a $14.5MM extension covering the 2023-24 seasons (with a ’25 club option) last spring. It seemed a firm commitment he’d be their primary catcher for the next few years, though that predated an underwhelming 2022 showing.

Stassi hit just .180/.267/.303 with nine homers in a career-high 375 plate appearances last year. His formerly excellent defensive grades slipped to almost exactly league average. His bat-to-ball skills and hard contact percentage each took steps back. It obviously wasn’t the kind of season he or the club had envisioned, meaning he’ll need a rebound showing if he’s to secure regular reps again. Stassi can’t be optioned to the minors, so he’ll be on the big league roster in some capacity. Whether that’s as the starter or reserve is up in the air.

Thaiss was a catcher at the University of Virginia. A bat-first player, he was selected in the first round in 2016 and immediately moved to first base. Scouts questioned whether he’d have the receiving skills to stick behind the plate. The Angels didn’t give him the chance to work on his defense, instead hoping his bat would launch him quickly through the minor leagues.

The lefty-hitting Thaiss proved a fine but not exceptional minor league hitter. He paired quality plate discipline with above-average contact skills but never made the kind of power impact one would expect from a first baseman. In 2021, the Angels started giving him reps back behind the plate with Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s played 99 games there the past two years and started 11 MLB contests at catcher last season.

Thaiss owns just a .205/.299/.373 line over 278 MLB plate appearances, striking out at an uncharacteristic 30.6% clip. He only fanned in 18.4% of his trips with a robust 13% walk rate for the Bees last season, hitting .268/.364/.451 over 77 Triple-A games. He’s an interesting depth player but comes with questions about both his offensive impact and receiving ability behind the plate. Thaiss has exhausted his option years; the Halos have to keep him in the majors or make him available to other teams via waivers or trade.

Outlook

Anaheim will also get looks at Chad Wallach, José Godoy and minor leaguer Anthony Mulrine in camp this spring as non-roster players. Mulrine has never hit in the minors and looks to be an organizational depth piece. Wallach and Godoy have played in the big leagues but typically function as third/fourth options on a depth chart.

The initial playing time will almost certainly be divided among some combination of O’Hoppe, Stassi and Thaiss. Carrying O’Hoppe in a reserve capacity feels unlikely. He should play regularly, either in the majors or at Salt Lake. Whether the Halos deem him ready out of the gate — and if they do, whether they feel there’s room to keep both Stassi and Thaiss on the bench — are key questions for the front office and coaching staff over the next month and a half.

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