Minnesota Twins Sign Catcher Christian Vazquez

[Ted Schwerzler]

Coming into the offseason the Minnesota Twins had just a single catcher on their 40-man roster. While Ryan Jeffers did return to the lineup prior to the final game of the 2022 season, he wound up spending most of it injured and ineffective. Now he’s got a partner to share some of the load. Minnesota came to terms with veteran Christian Vazquez.

 

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t long ago that the Minnesota Twins employed a veteran alongside Ryan Jeffers in the form of Mitch Garver. When he was traded to the Texas Rangers last offseason, Derek Falvey targeted Gary Sanchez in a deal that sent Josh Donaldson and Ben Rortvedt to the Yankees. Sanchez wasn’t awful, but didn’t make the strides that would’ve warranted a return.

While the catching market looked thin behind All-Star Willson Contreras, the Twins keyed in all along on former Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros backstop Christian Vazquez. Having spent the entirety of his professional career in Boston up until 2022, Vazquez was dealt at the trade deadline with the Red Sox falling out of contention.

At the time he was dealt, Vazquez owned a 109 OPS+ for Boston and was a solid defender with a great clubhouse presence. The position is not one that is often seen as a strong offensive contributor, but he’s remained slightly above-average in each full season since 2019.

 

 

Coming off a World Series victory with the Houston Astros, Vazquez has worked with every type of pitcher including future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. He’ll look to handle a Twins pitching staff headlined by the trio of Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, and Joe Ryan. Kenta Maeda will also start the season in the rotation, and it’s well documented that Minnesota would like to add another starter.

Behind the plate, Vazquez has been a solid defender for the majority of his career. He ranked 22nd in pop time last season per Statscast and generated an additional framing run for his efforts. His 47.8% strike rate ranks just below former Astros teammate Martin Maldonado.

In signing Vazquez, Minnesota puts Jeffers back on the smaller end of a split. Similar to the scenario he was in with Garver, it should be expected that Vazquez operates as the 1A option among the pair. The Twins front office still has plenty of belief in Jeffers’ bat, and he’s come a long way defensively since the draft. If he can stay healthy, there’s a good chance he gets significant work against lefties and can raise his overall numbers.

The front office made their first substantial move of the offseason in addressing the catcher situation. They’ll now refocus their efforts on Carlos Correa at shortstop and what they can find on the starting pitching market.

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[Twins GFP]

Being reported at 3/$30m.  Really like this get.

[terrydactyls]

When Correa signs with SF, this off-season can be officially labeled a Titanic-size failure.  But the payroll will be under $100M and the Pohlad's can celebrate (with KFC takeout to save money).

 

[mikelink45]

This is good news!  Catching is so important and this really fills a significant hole. 

[darin617]

Who gets dumped from 40 man roster to make room?

[garn from vancouver]

as much as i hate anything even remotely connected to the astros, this is good.

[Wizard11]

No one gets dropped from the 40 man.  They had an open spot.

[jun]

Brewers get William Contreras, Joel Payamps, Justin Yeager, giving up Esteury Ruiz.

Wow, what a deal. Giving up only #8 prospect. That's a steal.

[CRF]

Not a trade for Murphy, but Vasquez will do.

[ashbury]

2 minutes ago, jun said:

Brewers get William Contreras, Joel Payamps, Justin Yeager, giving up Esteury Ruiz.

Wow, what a deal. Giving up only #8 prospect. That's a steal.

I continue to wonder whether the trade has been reported accurately.

[MTV]

12 minutes ago, darin617 said:

Who gets dumped from 40 man roster to make room?

The Total sat at 39, Vazquez signing didn’t force anyone out.

[CRF]

10 minutes ago, garn from vancouver said:

as much as i hate anything even remotely connected to the astros, this is good.

Vasquez was with Boston when the Stros were banging the trash cans.

[Wizard11]

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the second comment on this thread found a way to bash this signing. TD comment section has become a real downer.  
To the haters I would kindly request that you save it for things that have actually occurred.  It is hard to understand the need to register a potential “I told you so”.

[MTV]

I think he was the best get from the FA class, the Twins get his age 32-34 seasons at a reasonable price. I think this will be similar to the Jason Castro signing a few years back, a strong Veteran catcher with passable offense and strong defense and leadership. Great move by the FO.

[baul0010]

5 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I continue to wonder whether the trade has been reported accurately.

The trade makes no sense for the A's who dealt the best player of them all, and their return seemed the worst.

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, baul0010 said:

The trade makes no sense for the A's who dealt the best player of them all, and their return seemed the worst.

So, something good from Milwaukee to Oakland is yet to be disclosed?

[GNess]

This is a good signing. CV is a well-rounded and proven MLB catcher. 

[wsnydes]

Me likey...

[Linus]

Love this move. IMO catching was our greatest position player need. Now sign a stud reliever and get a good right handed hitting outfielder and we will be close. 

[Heistyman]

49 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

When Correa signs with SF, this off-season can be officially labeled a Titanic-size failure.  But the payroll will be under $100M and the Pohlad's can celebrate (with KFC takeout to save money).

 

I trust they have a coupon

[baul0010]

23 minutes ago, ashbury said:

So, something good from Milwaukee to Oakland is yet to be disclosed?

I don't think so.  I think the A's just pulled off one terrible trade.  

[RJA]

Excellent signing.  I also have read that he is a good clubhouse guy and I think that is important. I am always intrigued by players who have great contact skills but don't walk a lot.  One would think the two would go hand in hand, but they clearly don't.  Austidillo is proof positive of that fact.  Let's hope we get a shortstop and/or pitcher next.

[tony&rodney]

Christian Vasquez is a good pickup. The Twins have needed a good catcher for years and hopefully we see some results as an experienced catcher works with our pitchers and also provides tutelage for Jeffers who can still become much better at his craft.

It seems that Oakland and the Twins could not get together on a trade. It seemed like a possibility and I'm not too keen on the return the Athletics received for Murphy. Did the A's ask for too much or were the A's unimpressed with the Twins system and what it has to offer? No matter because maybe the Twins keeping their guys by signing a free agent (Vasquez) pays off in more ways than one. 

A trade for a pitcher and then a signing of Correa could certainly follow. It makes sense. In some ways, signing a catcher who can block pretty much any pitch may be the single best improvement possible for the Twins this offseason. 

[Seth Stohs]

26 minutes ago, ashbury said:

So, something good from Milwaukee to Oakland is yet to be disclosed?

Nope... it's inexplicable how the Brewers got Contreras, a reliever, and a relief prospect for Esteury Ruiz. 

https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/brewers-acquire-catcher-william-contreras-r632/ 

[Dman]

Really Happy the Twins got a catcher.  It was a major need and the price was right IMO.  As someone else noted not all that far off from the Castro signing several years ago.  This is a start now they just need to get Correa to sign on the dotted line and they can look for one more starter.

[D.C Twins]

This was a great signing....

Yes, this signing alone will not make a good offseason, but this was one of the better options to fill a clear need.

Let's all be a happy with this!

[twinstalker]

Twins signed Jason Castro for 3/27 a number of years ago.  Seems pretty much the same.  Better defensively, better health, but an old catcher, and catchers age horribly.

[MN_ExPat]

6 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I like this signing.  Just what we needed.  Did the Sox give him a QO?  If so, what pick do we lose?

He was traded mid season and was thus ineligible for the QO tag.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Both Vasquez and Correa are from P.R. I hope they are good friends.  

[roger]

Just filled their #1 need this off-season.  I don’t know a lot about this young man, but what y’all are saying above sounds like he should be a good #1a with Jeffers demoted #1b.  What is he, the fifth or sixth Puerto Rican on the team.  Who knows, maybe that puts Correa over the last hurdle?

The two biggest needs I see remaining are that stud late inning bullpen arm and a catcher like Leon on a minor league contract to work with the young guns at St Paul and be ready as an injury replacement.