The Boston Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the month of July. In fact, there’s no debating it, they’ve been THE hottest team in MLB since July 1, and their turnaround has been flat-out remarkable.
Boston is currently taking on the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game weekend series.
During the Blue Jays series, a Boston Red Sox old friend landed with a new team. Except this player isn’t that much of a familiar face, because he never played a game with the Red Sox, but was rather just in the organization.
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Matt Thaiss Lands with Houston Astros on Minors Deal
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 28: Pete Fairbanks #29 of the Tampa Bay Rays and Matt Thaiss #34 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate a 4-2 win against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on July 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Back in February of 2026, the Boston Red Sox inked Matt Thaiss to a minor league contract. The 7-year MLB veteran never appeared in an MLB game with the Red Sox this season, and his last Majors action came in 2025, between the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox.
In mid-July, the Red Sox cut ties with Matt Thaiss by releasing him from their organization.
MLB.com wrote (on July 14): “Worcester Red Sox released C Matt Thaiss.”
On July 24, he signed a minors deal with the Houston Astros and has since been assigned to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
MLBTR.com’s Anthony Franco wrote (about Matt Thaiss):Â
“The lefty batter has spent this season at Triple-A Worcester in the Red Soxâ system. He didnât perform as hoped offensively, hitting .201/.314/.313 with three home runs in 170 plate appearances. Thaissâ typically strong plate discipline was unchanged. He didnât hit the ball especially hard and only had a .224 average on balls in play.”
The poor minor-league stats are likely what led to his release, but the Houston Astros must have seen enough ‘good’ to ink him to a minors deal to aid in their organizational catching depth.
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Matt Thaiss’s MLB Career
GettyCHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MAY 21: Pitching coach Ethan Katz #52 of the Chicago White Sox talks with Matt Thaiss #29 and Shane Smith #64 during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Rate Field on May 21, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Matt Thaiss has played in parts of seven MLB seasons, with the first six years of his career being with the Los Angeles Angels.
The 31-year-old hasn’t performed that well at the plate over his career, posting a lifetime .210 batting average in 819 total at-bats. He has 23 career home runs, 95 RBI, and a career OPS+ of 81.
In 60 games with the White Sox/Rays last season, he batted .218 with one home run and 16 RBI.
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