White Sox acquire Matt Thaiss from Cubs

The Chicago teams decided to make a small swap. The White Sox acquired the catcher Matt Thaiss from the Cubs for cash, the teams announced. The Sox had a hole on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.

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

Kelly’s signing made a move from Thaiss all but inevitable. He’s out of options, so the Cubs couldn’t send him to the minors without placing him on waivers. Teams rarely have three catchers on the active roster for an entire season. The Cubs could have carried Thaiss to spring training as injury insurance, but they likely would have been forced into a roster move had their top two catchers been healthy on Opening Day.

The Thaiss trade now gives him some clarity and opens up a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster that was previously full. Thaiss has a good chance of breaking camp on the south side. Korey Lee hit .210/.244/.347 in 394 plate appearances last season, the highest of his career. Chuckie Robinsonwho has 51 MLB appearances and turned 30 this week, was the only other catcher on the 40-man roster.

The Sox have two highly valued catching prospects, Kyle Teel And Edgar Querowho are not far from major league readiness. They were each the headliners of the last trades. Teel led a four-run Red Sox return last week Garrett Crochet deal, while Quero was the big part of the 2023 deadline deal that was sent out Lucas Giolito And Reynaldo Lopez to the halos. Both players should make their big league debuts next season, although they both could potentially open the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

Thaiss, a left-handed hitter, brings more skill on the bases than Lee. He is a career .208/.313/.342 hitter who posted a .204/.323/.299 slash line in 186 plate appearances for the Angels this year. Thaiss throws a lot of pitches, which allows him to get a lot of walks, but also contributes to high strikeout rates. He never proved to be 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 plate in 2022, but performed as a below-average pitch framer with below-average arm strength.