NEW YORK — The Chicago White Sox traded Matt Thaiss to the Tampa Bay Rays and reinstated fellow catcher Korey Lee from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday.
Chicago received minor league outfielder Dru Baker from Tampa Bay for the 30-year-old Thaiss, who hit .212 with a homer and eight RBIs in 35 games with the White Sox. He had a .382 on-base percentage and .676 OPS.
Thaiss spent his previous six major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. He was acquired from the crosstown Chicago Cubs in December.
“Very professional,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Very positive guy that clearly has experience in this league and understands how to help a pitcher navigate tough lineups, understands how to have quality at-bats at the plate. Was just a total pro for us.”
The rebuilding White Sox have a strong catching pipeline, leaving no room for Thaiss. Edgar Quero is off to an encouraging start after making his major league debut on April 17. Kyle Teel, acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade in December, is playing well at Triple-A Charlotte.
“Excited about bringing Dru Baker in here. This opens up development time for some of our catchers,” Chicago general manager Chris Getz said at Citi Field before the White Sox played the New York Mets.
“I didn’t love having Korey in Triple-A with Kyle from a development standpoint, playing-time standpoint, so we were able to free that up a little bit. And now Kyle can be the primary focus at Triple-A, where Edgar and Korey can make a solid tandem for us up with our major league club.”
Lee, 26, had been sidelined by a sprained left ankle. He is batting .333 (5 for 15) in nine games with Chicago this year. He was available off the bench Tuesday night against the Mets, with Quero in the starting lineup batting fifth.
Baker, 25, was a fourth-round selection in the 2021 amateur draft out of Texas Tech. He has been on the seven-day injured list since April 22 with a left adductor strain.
Baker batted .245 with a homer and three RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Durham this season. Now in the White Sox system, he will be assigned to Charlotte.
“Dru Baker offers speed and defense versatility. He’s a plus defender in the outfield, he’s got some history as an infielder. To be able to create some depth in the outfield was something that we found attractive enough to execute the deal,” Getz said. “I would imagine that at some point this year he could help us at the major league level.”
The addition of Thaiss gives Tampa Bay another catching option behind Danny Jansen. Ben Rortvedt has struggled this year, batting just .100 (6 for 60) in 25 games.
“They’ve been on the hunt to improve their catching for the last couple weeks, and we’re in a fortunate position here with the White Sox where we’ve got some depth,” Getz said. “Matty did a nice job for us as well. You look at his on-base percentage, how he handled games behind the plate – he caught their attention and we were able to match up on a deal.”
Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca was transferred to the 60-day IL to create an opening for Thaiss on the 40-man roster. DeLuca is coming back from a right shoulder strain.
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