The Los Angeles Angels have traded catcher Matt Thaiss to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced on Wednesday.
Thaiss, 29, has been with the Angels at the Major League level for six seasons, making his MLB debut for the team on July 3, 2019. Thaiss played intermittently over his first four seasons, but became the full-time backup catcher in his last two seasons in Anaheim.
He had a career .655 OPS and 81 OPS+ in his six seasons with the Angels. His best season was 2023, when he played 95 games due to an injury to starter Logan O’Hoppe and he posted a .659 OPS and nine home runs. He was also an above average catcher defensively. He had a 75th percentile blocks above average and 61st percentile caught stealing above average in 2023, via Baseball Savant.
Thaiss is now slated to continue the backup catcher role with the Cubs, projected to be playing behind 25-year-old Miguel Amaya next season.
This move became expected for the Angels after they signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year, $12 million deal to be the steady catcher behind O’Hoppe. The Angels had no use in holding all three catchers on the roster, and they send Thaiss to a place where he will have legitimate playing time in 2025.
The Angels have made it a mission this season to shore up their depth and assure that they are not giving regular at-bats to below replacement-level hitters. And while Thaiss was a quality catcher, he certainly qualifies as such with the career 81 OPS+.
Angels projected depth chart after Matt Thaiss trade
Here is the projected depth chart for the Angels on offense after the Thaiss trade as of Wednesday, Nov. 20. There are likely still many moves to be made and positions to be shored up.
C: Logan O’Hoppe
1B: Nolan Schanuel
2B: Kevin Newman
SS: Zach Neto
3B: Luis Rengifo
LF: Taylor Ward
CF: Mike Trout
RF: Jo Adell
DH: Jorge Soler
Bench:
C Travis d’Arnaud
INF Scott Kingery
OF Mickey Moniak
INF Anthony Rendon