Cubs Make Trade, Acquire Former First-Round Draft Pick From Angels

The Los Angeles Angels traded Matt Thaiss to the Chicago Cubs for cash on Wednesday, an unsurprising move for baseball’s busiest team this offseason.

Thaiss, a first-round draft pick by the Angels in 2016, spent the 2024 season as the backup to starting catcher Logan O’Hoppe. After general manager Perry Minasian signed veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud to be O’Hoppe’s backup, the writing was on the wall.

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The offseason is only three weeks old, yet Minasian has already been busier making moves than any of his peers. The Angels acquired DH/outfielder Jorge Soler and infielder Scott Kingery in separate trades. They have also claimed first baseman Ryan Noda off waivers and signed pitcher Kyle Hendricks in addition to signing d’Arnaud.

Thaiss, 29, slashed .204/.323/.299 in 57 games last season, with two home runs and 16 RBIs. He has also seen time at first base, third base, second base and left field in parts of six major league seasons, all with the Angels.

Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins recently spoke of the team’s need to upgrade its catching depth. The Cubs got minus-0.2 Wins Above Replacement from their catchers in 2024, according to FanGraphs, and the list of veteran catchers available in free agency is short.

Gary Sanchez recently had his option declined by the Milwaukee Brewers, joining a group of free agents that includes Danny Jansen, Elias Diaz, and Carson Kelly. All would be viable mentors to the 25-year-old Amaya, who’s played 170 major league games with Chicago over the last two seasons.

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In a recent interview with ESPN’s Buster Olney, Hawkins confirmed Chicago was in the market.

“We really like Miguel Amaya at catcher but we feel that’s an opportunity for us to get better, whether that’s pairing a player with Miguel or finding somebody to take everyday at-bats there,” Hawkins said. “You can really never have enough great arms. That’s the probably the space that we’ll focus on the most. If we can find an opportunity to improve over any of our other players, we’ll do it, it’s just the better the player it is, the harder it is to improve over that player.”

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Amaya played 117 games in 2024 and slashed .232/.288/.357. A right-handed hitter, he would make a logical platoon partner with the left-handed hitting Thaiss.

More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.