Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up
Odds by

    Astros sign Matt Thaiss to minors contract

    Link copied to clipboard!
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Astros signed C Matt Thaiss to a minor league contract.

    Thaiss was a first-round pick of the division-rival Angels back in 2016 and never really went on to be a highly impactful contributor at the highest level. The 31-year-old has bounced around between several organizations over the last two years, including a stop with the Red Sox most recently where he hit .201 with three homers in 170 plate appearances at Triple-A Worcester. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this stage of his career, but he still qualifies as an interesting addition given his former prospect status.
Trade deadline moves set to shake up AL East race
The AL East was one of baseball's busiest divisions leading up to Monday's trade deadline, leaving CC Sabathia to assess how the Rays and Yankees stack up following their respective moves.

Related Player News

  • FA Catcher #34
    Personalize your Rotoworld feed by favoriting players
    Thaiss had been with the Red Sox on a minor league deal. The 31-year-old backstop hit .201/.314/.313 with three homers and 24 RBI in 170 plate appearances at Triple-A Worcester. It shouldn’t take him long to latch on elsewhere, as most teams place a premium on quality catching depth.
  • BOS Catcher #34
    This means Connor Wong has won the job as Boston’s backup catcher. Thaiss put pressure on Wong this spring when he got off to a strong start as a hitter and also showcased his plus defensive skills and ability to manage a pitching staff. However, Thaiss wound up going just 4-for-21 this spring, and the Red Sox will see if they can keep him in the organization as catching depth. Gasper is on the 40-man roster, so he will likely head to Triple-A Worcester.
  • BOS Catcher #34
    Thaiss fortifies Boston’s catching depth chart behind starter Carlos Narváez and backup Connor Wong. The 30-year-old backstop could potentially push Wong for the backup role in spring training but figures to open the year at Triple-A Worcester. He batted .218/.349/.288 with one homer across 190 plate appearances between the Rays and White Sox this past season.
  • FA Starting Pitcher #24
    McKenzie headlines a group of 19 players who elected minor league free agency earlier this week, including catcher Matt Thaiss; infielders Scott Kingery, Keston Hiura, Sergio Alcántara, Terrin Vavra and Vimael Machín; outfielders Jose Siri, Connor Joe and Jordyn Adams; and relievers Noah Davis, Scott Blewett, Brooks Kriske, Kevin Herget, Cionel Pérez, Darren McCaughan, Richard Lovelady, José Ruiz and Jordan Weems.
  • TB Catcher #34
    Thaiss, who was bumped off the roster by the Hunter Feduccia addition, accepted the assignment, and he could be in line to rejoin the Rays as a third catcher once September comes around.
  • TB Catcher #34
    The Rays needed to clear a spot amid a flurry of roster moves on Friday which seems to have cost Thaiss his spot on the club’s active and 40-man rosters. The 30-year-old veteran backstop could have some appeal to teams that are looking for quality catching depth on the waiver wire.
  • TB Catcher #19
    The deal should be official at some point shortly. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal adds that the Rays are also on the verge of swinging an additional trade with the Marlins for veteran backstop Nick Fortes. He’ll split the catching duties in Tampa Bay with Matt Thaiss over the final two months. Meanwhile, Jansen provides Milwaukee with a reliable lefty-mashing option at catcher, allowing them to move William Contreras to DH with greater frequency down the home stretch.
  • TB Catcher #19
    The move would add some reliable catching depth behind William Contreras, who would likely be able to spend additional time at DH over the final two months. The 30-year-old backstop has split the catching duties this season for Tampa Bay along with Matt Thaiss.
  • TB Catcher #34
    The light-hitting backstop delivered a two-out, two-run double off of Jack Flaherty to cap off a four-run uprising in the opening inning. He then walked in the third and raced around to score on a three-run double by Taylor Walls. Thaiss also smacked an RBI single off of Carlos Hernandez in the sixth inning and added another RBI knock off of Brenan Hanifee in the eighth before scoring on Kameron Misner’s RBI single. Even with this huge night, he’s still hitting just .239/.396/.310 on the season with one homer, 13 RBI and a stolen base in 145 plate appearances.
  • TB Catcher #29
    Tampa Bay traded for Thaiss on Tuesday and will now add him to their active roster. He will likely serve as the backup behind Danny Jansen.

Rotoworld

  • Personalize your Rotoworld feed by favoriting players
    Link copied to clipboard!

    MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reported that the Brewers’ trade proposal for Tarik Skubal included infielder Luis Peña.

    McCalvy reports that the Brewers’ initial proposal “was also three prospects, according to sources. All three were hitters, and at least two were Top 100 prospects.” While McCalvy is unsure exactly which three names were in the final proposal, he reports that “one of them was shortstop Luis Peña,” who is the18th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. This season, Peña is hitting .308/.396/.447 in 45 games between Single-A and High-A with two home runs, 19 RBI, and 22 steals. The Brewers must have been comfortable enough with the recent performance of Cooper Pratt to deal Peña, but the Tigers went in another direction. Perhaps they preferred Zyhir Hope’s upside or wanted a pitching prospect like River Ryan. Those are the answers we’re unlikely to ever get.
  • TB Designated Hitter #2
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Yandy Díaz is not in the lineup on Wednesday against the Rockies.

    Seems like a routine day off for Díaz. Liam Hicks will play first base and Jonathan Aranda will DH. Victor Mesa Jr. will shift into the leadoff spot.
  • BAL Relief Pitcher #66
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Orioles optioned RHP Anthony Nunez to Triple-A Norfolk.

    The Orioles needed a roster spot for newly acquired reliever Alex Hoppe, so Nunez was sent down. The 25-year-old has a 4.60 ERA in 45 innings for the Orioles this season.
  • CWS Left Fielder #21
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    White Sox reinstated Austin Hays (calf) from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment.

    Hays has been on the injured list since May 2nd with a calf strain, and the White Sox have since added Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle to be right-handed outfielders. Hays will try to latch on elsewhere if his calf is 100 percent.
  • CHC Relief Pitcher #70
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Cubs optioned LHP Antoine Kelly to Triple-A Iowa

    The Cubs needed a spot on the active roster, so Kelly will be sent down. He threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his MLB debut.
  • TOR Relief Pitcher #52
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Blue Jays recalled RHP Chase Lee from Triple-A Buffalo

    The 27-year-old has a 2.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 40/18 K/BB ratio in 45 innings at Triple-A so far this season. His 3 1/3 MLB innings have been far less successful.
  • TOR Relief Pitcher #60
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Blue Jays recalled RHP Lazaro Estrada from Triple-A Buffalo

    Estrada has a 4.82 ERA in 9 1/3 innings so far this season for the Blue Jays. He was just demoted to Triple-A on Tuesday but is eligible to come right back since Trey Yesavage (knee) was put on the injured list.
  • TOR Starting Pitcher #73
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Blue Jays optioned RHP Chad Dallas to Triple-A Buffalo

    Dallas was needed for three innings out of the bullpen on Tuesday, allowing six runs on seven hits. He’ll now head back to the minors so the team can get a fresh arm up in the bullpen.
  • TOR Starting Pitcher #39
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Blue Jays placed RHP Trey Yesavage on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation.

    The latest report was that the Blue Jays were still waiting on MRI results, but it’s clear that they felt Yesavage would not be a good bet to make his next start or the one after. The Blue Jays didn’t fully sell at the deadline, but their playoff hopes remain slim, so they may not be inclined to rush Yesavage and have him pitch at less than 100 percent. We’ll wait for the MRI results before we know more about how long he will be sidelined.
  • WSH Right Fielder #21
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Nationals have requested unconditional release waivers on Joey Wiemer.

    We are a long way from March, when Wiemer went 10-for-22 with two home runs, seven runs scored, and four RBI in the first five games of the season. The 27-year-old is hitting .196/.277/.257 in 166 plate appearances at Triple-A. He’ll try to sign a minor league contract somewhere else.