Rumor: Twins have offered Christian Vazquez a contract

[Brock Beauchamp]

Doogie reported that the Twins have offered free agent catcher Christian Vazquez a contract. The long-time Red Sox player is entering his age 32 season and should come at a considerable discount over the recently signed Willson Contreras. But unlike Contreras, Vazquez is known for a steady hand behind the dish and an excellent arm. With the Twins' desire to split time with Ryan Jeffers, signing someone like Vazquez makes a lot more sense than breaking open the piggy bank for a top-flight catcher like Contreras.

 

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[DJL44]

Excellent. He'll make the whole pitching staff better.

[old nurse]

Contract not signed yet. A good catcher. If the top seven hitters are back and healthy they do not need great production from the catcher. If he helps the pitchers be better that has tons more value

[Linus]

They have to get someone and there ain’t much left. 

[tony&rodney]

Sure hope the Twins are able to get a catcher. Last December it seemed like a possible strength or at least respectable position. Vasquez or Narvaez or trade for Murphy or a Blue Jay .... something.

[RpR]

Vasquez would be a big help for the Twins, but how does a guy hit 20 some home runs , one year, and not even double gits in any of the rest?

Well, I looked at his strike out rate, hmmm.

[Doctor Gast]

One of the biggest problem with Jeffers is that he can't hit RHPs, How does signing Vasquez help that? The only viable LH hitting catcher is Narvaez. Vasquez wants to be the main man, he doesn't want to share time with Jeffers. It only makes sense if you want to upgrade with Vasquez & trade Jeffers,

[DocBauer]

Initially, I felt Narvaez was the best fit due to a solid LH bat and solid behind the plate. He and Jeffers would make a solid combination. He also would come fairly inexpensive. But I like the Vazquez move very much. He's a decent, solid hitter and has an excellent defensive reputation. I think he could bring a lot to the team as a whole, but especially behind the plate. And it doesn't hurt that he lends veteran experience to the still young Jeffers, much like Castro did with Garver a few years ago.

At the end of the day, quality game calling and handling of the staff is still the most important aspect of a catcher. Vazquez does that. And that's more important than a LH/RH split situation.

Now, make it happen. And then grab Leon, or someone similar, on a milb deal or split deal to be a potential 3rd catcher and work with the arms at AAA next season. St Paul could have a pretty good staff of mostly young arms and I'd sure like someone like Leon working with those arms. And it wouldn't hurt to have a "coach on the field and in the dugout" type to work with guys like Camargo behind the dish either.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

One of the biggest problem with Jeffers is that he can't hit RHPs, How does signing Vasquez help that? The only viable LH hitting catcher is Narvaez. Vasquez wants to be the main man, he doesn't want to share time with Jeffers. It only makes sense if you want to upgrade with Vasquez & trade Jeffers,

Narvaez is also my first choice but Vazquez has a .682 career OPS against RHP. That's not terrible and about .070 higher than Jeffers' career number.

[IndianaTwin]

I’m not that hung up about a lefty/righty balance. It’s not that they ignore platooning, but my sense is that the catcher rotation is much more about balancing workload and days off than it is about the opposing pitcher’s handedness.

[weitz41]

 From what I've read Vazquez fits what I believe the Twins are looking for better then probably all the other free agent catchers. I hope they get him signed. There are just as good or maybe better catchers out on the trade market, but the player/prospect cost would be steep. Spend the money Twins.

[h2oface]

8 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

One of the biggest problem with Jeffers is that he can't hit RHPs, How does signing Vasquez help that? The only viable LH hitting catcher is Narvaez. Vasquez wants to be the main man, he doesn't want to share time with Jeffers. It only makes sense if you want to upgrade with Vasquez & trade Jeffers,

Great idea!

[rv78]

All this means is so they can say. They tried. Darren Wolfson says they were never in on Contreras, which is no surprise. Why would they try to get the best available FA catcher? That goes against their main priority of saving money, go for the cheaper option even if it means getting players that are 2nd best. Then guys like St Peter wonder why Twins fans don't come to Target Field and support the team. Bogaerts is now off-the-board and big names are signing everywhere. Looks like another off-season of picking from "what's left" or hoping a Correa drops in their lap. 

[wabene]

[Stew]

Ok it makes a lot more sense platooning two catchers who don't hit well for average. Ok they can handle the duties behind the plate. But we need to improve every position to have a club that can go further. We could have just paid Garver to come back. He at his best would provide good hitting. But this way we spend 4 or 5 million leaving room for a starter, relief pitcher, and Correa.