The Cubs have another catcher on the 40-man roster.
The Cubs, since letting Christian Bethancourt go, had only one catcher on the 40-man roster.
They added one today when they acquired Matt Thaiss from the Angels for cash considerations. To make room for Thaiss on the 40-man roster, the Cubs designated Trey Wingenter for assignment.
Thaiss was the Angels’ first-round pick (16th overall) in 2016 out of the University of Virginia. In six seasons with the Angels he has not hit well: .208/.313/.342 with 22 home runs in 245 games. All of that has produced a total of 0.7 bWAR.
It should be noted here that Thaiss is a conversion guy. He was drafted as an infielder and did not play a single game behind the plate until 2021, when he caught 54 games for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City. Even in the major leagues, only a bit more than half his games have been behind the plate. He hasn’t been very good at throwing out runners (only 18 percent) and with just 116 MLB games started at catcher, he’s a work in progress, even at age 29.
So this is a crapshoot, I’d say, regarding a partner for Miguel Amaya. It’s possible there still might be more moves made to acquire catchers. Thaiss is arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2025. MLB Trade Rumors projects him at a salary of $1.3 million.
This strikes me as a “meh” move for me, and as always, we await developments.