Angels' Matt Thaiss: Slight favorite to win roster spot
Rotowire
Thaiss appears as a slight favorite to begin the season in the majors over Logan O'Hoppe, MLB.com reports.
Thaiss is hitting .389 with a 1.060 OPS in 18 at-bats this spring. He's competing with Logan O'Hoppe for the backup role to Max Stassi. O'Hoppe is a top prospect and the Angels may want him to play every day in the minors initially. Still, this job battle may come down to the final days of spring training.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: On bench against lefty
Rotowire
Thaiss is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The lefty-hitting Thaiss will take a seat for the second day in a row with southpaw Ken Waldichuk taking the mound for the Athletics. Matt Duffy will spell Thaiss at first base.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Absent from lineup Tuesday
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Thaiss isn't starting Tuesday against Oakland, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
After going 1-for-8 with three walks over the last four games, Thaiss will take a seat Tuesday. Matt Duffy will take his place at first base and bat sixth.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Takes seat Saturday
Rotowire
Thaiss isn't starting Saturday against the Rangers, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Thaiss went 0-for-3 with a strikeout during Friday's win over Texas, and he'll head to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Matt Duffy is starting at first base and batting cleanup.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Sitting again Friday
Rotowire
Thaiss isn't starting Friday against the Twins.
Thaiss has gone 0-for-15 with a run, a stolen base, four walks and nine strikeouts over his last six games and will be on the bench for the third time in the last four matchups. Max Stassi is starting behind the dish and batting eighth.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Not in Thursday's lineup
Rotowire
Thaiss isn't starting Thursday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Thaiss started three of the last four games and went 0-for-8 with three walks and five strikeouts over that stretch. Kurt Suzuki will draw the start behind the dish and bat seventh Thursday.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Poaching starts from Stassi
Rotowire
Thaiss will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
He's behind the plate for the third time in four games and appears to have settled in as the Angels' preferred option at catcher ahead of the struggling Max Stassi, who is hitting .109 with a 31.8 percent strikeout rate since the beginning of August. Thaiss hasn't dazzled since being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on Aug. 25, but his .233/.306/.372 slash line in 17 games over the past month is a marked improvement from what Stassi has provided the Angels.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Logs first steal
Rotowire
Thaiss went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 8-7 win over the Mariners.
Thaiss went without a hit for the third time in his last four games, but he was able to record the first stolen base of his career after a sixth-inning walk. The 27-year-old is slashing .256/.302/.410 with two home runs, four RBI and five runs scored through 43 plate appearances. He's still likely to be limited to backup duties at catcher and first base.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Back on bench Monday
Rotowire
Thaiss is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
Thaiss will retreat to the bench after he went 4-for-11 with a home run and a walk while starting in three of the Angels' last four games. He'll likely be part of a three-headed timeshare at catcher with Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki moving forward and will also be an option to fill in at first base when top option Mike Ford gets a day off.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Back in big leagues
Rotowire
Thaiss was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.
Thaiss will return to the big leagues after being sent down July 2. The 27-year-old has only registered two at-bats with the Angels this season, but he's produced a .269 average with 10 homers, 48 RBI, 46 runs and seven stolen bases over 77 games with Salt Lake. Thaiss will provide depth at either corner-infield spot and give the Angels a third catcher option behind Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday.
Thaiss joined the major-league club Monday but appeared in just two games during his stint with the Angels. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and will head back to the minors after the team signed Jonathan Villar to a major-league contract Saturday.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Recalled from minors
Rotowire
Thaiss was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.
Thaiss has spent the bulk of this season at catcher after converting back to the position he played in college, though he's up to replace Matt Duffy (back), so he may be needed more in the infield for now. He hasn't swung a particularly hot bat at the Triple-A level this season, as his .265/.365/.444 line is merely good for a 104 wRC+, and he hasn't been good in 64 career major-league games, either, hitting .200/.289/.394 (80 wRC+).
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Active for Salt Lake
Rotowire
Thaiss (undisclosed) was activated from the 7-day injured list for Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Thaiss has been out for two weeks with an unspecified issue, but he's good to go again now. He hit a modest .226/.300/.452 in 17 games prior to the injury and probably has to show more than that if he's to push for a return to the majors.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Goes on IL
Rotowire
Triple-A Salt Lake placed Thaiss on the 7-day injured list Tuesday due to an unspecified issue.
Outfielder Orlando Martinez was called up from Double-A Rocket City to replace Thaiss on the Triple-A roster. Thaiss has hit .226 with three home runs and three stolen bases across 70 plate appearances at Salt Lake this season.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Sent to minors
Rotowire
Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.
Thaiss appeared in five Cactus League games this spring and went 2-for-10 with a home run, three RBI, two runs and two strikeouts. However, he'll likely spend most of the season in Salt Lake.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Recalled by Angels
Rotowire
Thaiss was recalled by the Angels on Thursday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Thaiss filled in as an infielder during a brief major-league stint earlier in the year, but manager Joe Maddon said Thursday that the 26-year-old is now a full-time catcher. He should mainly serve in a depth role during the final few games of the regular season.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Returns to minors
Rotowire
Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The 26-year-old was promoted from Salt Lake last week and will return there after appearing in only two games for the Angels. He was expected to help fill in at first base with Jared Walsh (chest) on the injured list, but Thaiss will instead make a quick return to the minors. Phil Gosselin should continue to dominate the work at first base until Walsh is healthy.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Joins big-league club
Rotowire
Thaiss was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old will make his way to the majors for the first time this season with Jared Walsh (chest) landing on the injured list. Thaiss should be in the mix for playing time at first base along with Phil Gosselin while Walsh is sidelined.
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Works behind plate
Rotowire
Thaiss started at catcher for Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Per Ardaya, the last time Thaiss served as backstop in a game was during his final collegiate season at Virginia in 2016. It's not clear whether Saturday's appearance behind the dish was simply an experiment or part of a broader effort to expand the organization's catching depth. For what it's worth, the Angels recently traded for journeyman backstop Drew Butera after temporarily losing the services of Max Stassi (concussion) and Anthony Bemboom (back).
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Angels' Matt Thaiss: Headed to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.
Thaiss got work at several defensive positions this spring but was unable to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster. The 25-year-old appeared in 11 Cactus League games and went 2-for-17 with a double, one run, one walk and eight strikeouts.
