The Red Sox released catcher Matt Thaiss from his minor league deal on July 17, the same day they re-signed Tommy Kahnle and sent him back to Triple-A Worcester. Thaiss had spent the entire season in Worcester, but the organization decided to move on from him anyway.
That decision lands because Thaiss was not just filling space. He hit.201/.314/.313 in 170 plate appearances for Worcester, and he had also signed with the Red Sox ahead of the season hoping to work his way into the mix. Instead, the club chose a different path on the same day it brought Kahnle back into the system.
The timing matters because Boston was not cleaning house at catcher so much as making a narrow roster choice around depth. The Red Sox already had Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong on the big league roster, with Mickey Gasper on optional assignment and Andrew Knizner and Jason Delay as non-roster depth options, which left little room for Thaiss once the club decided he was expendable.
Still, the move carries a strange edge. Earlier, Cora had said Thaiss was impressing people and controlling the pitching staff, calling out his swing, his left-handed bat and the way he handled pitchers. Those were not empty compliments, and they make the release harder to square with the public praise that came before it.
Kahnle’s return helps explain the larger shuffle. He signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in March, reached the majors on June 1 because of an opt-out in that agreement, then logged eight appearances and nine innings before being designated for assignment at the end of June. After clearing waivers and electing free agency, he was back on a minor league deal and headed to Worcester again on July 17.
For Thaiss, the path is much less defined. He remains the player most directly changed by the move, and the release leaves him looking for his next job without any sign yet of where that job will be.
