Matthew Kevin Thaiss (born May 6, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Amateur career

Thaiss attended Jackson Memorial High School in

Jackson Township, New Jersey Jackson Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A portion of the township is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. As of the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. During his career he batted .343 with 17

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 70

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). He was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the 32nd round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

, but did not sign and attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

where he played for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. As a freshman at Virginia in 2014, Thaiss played in 26 games with 16 starts at

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. In 68 at-bats he hit .265 with seven RBIs. As a sophomore in 2015, Thaiss started 67 of 68 games, batting .323/.413/.552 with ten home runs and 64 RBIs. He played for the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

in the summer of 2015. In 2016, Thaiss played 60 games and batted .375/.473/.578 along with ten home runs. This strong play at Virginia led to Thaiss being drafted in the first round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

by the

with the 16th overall pick.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels

Thaiss signed with the Angels and was assigned to the

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

. After batting .338 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 15 games for Orem, he was promoted to the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

, where he hit .276 with four home runs, 31 RBI, and a .778 OPS in 52 games to end the season. He was ranked as the Angels' top prospect at the end of the 2016 season. Thaiss spent 2017 with both the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchi ...

and the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, posting a combined .274 batting average with nine home runs and 73 RBI in 133 games, and 2018 with Mobile and the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

, slashing .280/.335/.467 with 16 home runs and 76 RBI in 125 games between both teams. He returned to Salt Lake to begin 2019. On July 3, 2019, the Angels selected Thaiss' contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that night, hitting a double in his first at-bat off of Ariel Jurado of the Texas Rangers. As he was a catcher before being drafted, he has converted into a first baseman and a third baseman after being drafted. On the season, Thaiss hit .211 with eight home runs in 53 games. In 2020, Thaiss went 3-for-21 with one home run for a .143/.280/.286 batting line across eight games. In 2021, the Angels had Thaiss return to playing catcher. Thaiss played in 57 games for the Angels in 2024, slashing .204/.323/.299 with two home runs, 16 RBI, and three stolen bases. Thaiss was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the team on November 14, 2024.

Chicago White Sox

On November 20, 2024, the Angels traded Thaiss to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in exchange for cash considerations. The Cubs traded Thaiss to the

in exchange for cash considerations on December 17. He made 35 appearances for Chicago in 2025, batting .212/.382/.294 with one home run, eight RBI, and one stolen base.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 27, 2025, the White Sox traded Thaiss to the

in exchange for minor league prospect Dru Baker.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaiss, Matt 1995 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Baseball players from Ocean County, New Jersey Burlington Bees players Chicago White Sox players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Inland Empire 66ers players Jackson Memorial High School alumni Los Angeles Angels players Madison Mallards players Major League Baseball first basemen Mobile BayBears players Orem Owlz players Salt Lake Bees players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Jackson Township, New Jersey Tampa Bay Rays players Tigres del Licey players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players