LA Angels' Travis d'Arnaud signing likely means end of this player's time in Anaheim

The writing is on the wall for Matt Thaiss.

Despite the Angels designating Guillo Zuñiga for assignment as the corresponding move for signing Travis d'Arnaud, they will likely not operate with three catchers on the active roster next season (despite what Perry Minasian says). People might believe that the Angels will reel in O'Hoppe's time behind the plate now that they have d'Arnaud -- well, think again. They want the soon-to-be 25-year-old frequently behind the plate, and gaining invaluable experience managing a pitching staff, developing good habits defensively, and being a leader on the field. Plus, he only caught 49 games in 2023 and 5 in 2022. O'Hoppe started as the catcher in 121 games and d'Arnaud 79, the club could benefit by cutting back on both of their starts some. Just do not expect a significant reduction in O'Hoppe's catching yet.

Unfortunately, Thaiss is out of MiLB options. Positionally, he has experience around the infield but he is just simply not as valuable as the alternatives the Angels possess (like Niko Kavadas and Ryan Noda at first base). His offensive numbers are poor and would not add anything defensively. The Angels have been the most active team in baseball since the beginning of the offseason, so there will undoubtedly be another trade or signing that will bump Thaiss off the 40-man roster in the coming days, weeks, months. Keeping Thaiss would take a roster spot away from a pitcher or non-catcher who could contribute much more for the Angels both next season and down the road.

There are reports that the Angels will look to trade Thaiss, which would likely occur after they DFA him. Whether some team would give the Angels cash or a low-level prospect remains to be seen, but it seems more probable than not that he would pass waivers rather than even be claimed. Thaiss will turn 30-years-old in May, 2025, and this year will be his go-round in arbitration. He was expected to make $1.2 million in arbitration, but FanGraphs places his 2024 dollar value at -$1.2 million. Would Thaiss accept an outright assignment to AAA Salt Lake, or leave the organization altogether and see if another team will take a flier on him?

Furthermore, the Angels have an expected payroll of $174 million now. Arte Moreno said they would not outspend the 2023 team, which was $215 million. Every dollar Moreno spends is significant, so he could aim to mitigate some additional spending by waiving and releasing Thaiss. The Angels' former first rounder of out UVA had a solid offensive season in 2019, but has really struggled since. He slashed .204/.323/.299/.622 in 57 games last season.

A day before Perry Minasian inked d'Arnaud to a two-year, $12 million contract, he said this about the incumbent backup catcher. "We do like Matt Thaiss. I think he's improved after transitioning from catching out of the Draft to changing positions and playing first and playing third and even playing some second before going back to catching. I think he's made positive strides there. But with that being said, we're going to look at everywhere."

d'Arnaud's 2.5 wins above replacement in 2024 was tied with Danny Jansen as the second highest mark amongst free agent catchers (trailing only Kyle Higashioka). Many lauded Thaiss for his off-field mentorship over the years, but d'Arnaud's is on another stratosphere given his 2021 World Series championship and abundance of big league experience. Ron Washington can d'Arnaud to his laundry list of right-handed hitting position players who crush left-handed pitchers.

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