The Red Sox may have to make a decision on a catcher Matt Thaiss soon. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reports that several players in camp on minor league deals have upward movement clauses or opt outs of their contracts. Most of them will come during the season. With Thaiss, you have a clause to move up five days before Opening Day. Cotillo also notes that Thaiss will make $1.3MM in salary if added to the roster.
When the promotion clause is triggered, the player is offered to the other 29 clubs in the league. If one of them is willing to give the player a roster spot, the signing club must offer him a roster spot themselves or trade him to another club that will. If no club offers him a roster spot, he can be sent to the minors as an unplanned death.
Thaiss, 31 in May, competes in support work Carlos Narvaez. Thaiss’ defense is questionable but he clearly has a keen eye at the plate, as he drew a walk in 13.1% of his plate appearances. That helped him produce a .210/.320/.332 batting line. An 84 wRC+ result shows that his production was 16% below league average but backstops are usually about ten points below average, so that’s not too bad for a backup catcher.
The Sox have it Connor Wong roster but still has a minor league option remaining and put up a terrible .190/.262/.238 line last year. Mickey Gasper is versatile and can play other positions. If the Sox want to, they can add Thaiss to the roster and option Wong and Gasper to serve as depth in Triple-A. Doing so would require opening up a 40-man roster spot for Thaiss. If they are not willing to do that, they may be forced to send him elsewhere.
There are other contract provisions the Sox should consider, but not as urgent. Cotillo adds that right hand Kyle Keller and has a travel clause but only until April 15. Cotillo had previously reported a mid-April date for that clause.
That means the Sox could keep Keller as minor league depth for at least the first few weeks of the season and delay his decision until then. Keller also has other unspecified options to opt out of the deal beyond that April 15 deadline, as well as a clause that allows teams in Japan and Korea to pursue him if he doesn’t have a spot on the big league roster. Keller spent the last four years pitching in Japan and posted a 2.42 earned run average in 152 1/3 innings.
The Sox have more breathing room with other deals. Striker Vinny Capra It is out on June 1st. A hunter Jason Delay has exit options on June 30 and August 15. The delay is in the same holding mix as Thaiss. If Thaiss ends up in another location, then the chances of Delay finding a location could improve. If he doesn’t like his situation this summer, he’ll have fewer opportunities to seek greener pastures.
Capra seems a little blocked right now. A must-have Sox project Isiah Kiner-Falefa as their most versatile player on the bench. They have it too Andrew Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard again Tsung-Che Cheng in the list. A rash of injuries could change the formula but Capra will have a chance to walk if the path is unclear.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
