Playing Catch-Up: Joe Mauer's Successors Behind the Plate in Minnesota

[Nick Nelson]

A big reason Hall of Famer Joe Mauer was often underrated during his career was a collective failure to understand the value of a catcher who can hit, field and stay healthy. The decade since Mauer moved away from the position, however, has perfectly exemplified how hard it is to find quality two-way catchers.

Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Steven Bisig, Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Around this time 10 years ago, veteran Joe Mauer was preparing to report for spring training with a new twist: he was now a first baseman, no longer a catcher. Before a fateful concussion in 2013 forced his position switch, Mauer had been Minnesota's Opening Day catcher in nine of the 10 past years. (The lone exception: his MVP-winning 2009 season, where he got a late start due to injury.)

In 10 years since Mauer's catching career ended, the Twins have had five different Opening Day starters at the position, with more than a dozen others making appearances. There have been some flashes of success and entertaining moments (La Tortuga!), but none of these catchers have come close to matching the durability, stability, or value that Mauer provided throughout his decade-long run behind the plate. 

Reflecting on how difficult Mauer has been to replace helps contextualize just how special he really was. Let's take a tour through Minnesota's catching carousel. We'll start by running it back to 2014, the start of the post-Mauer era.

As a setup, here's a quick look at Mauer's fWAR, and the team's league-wide rank in catching fWAR, for each of his 10 seasons at catcher.

• 2004: 1.2 fWAR (Twins 20th in MLB)
• 2005: 3.4 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2006: 5.8 fWAR (Twins 1st in MLB)
• 2007: 3.3 fWAR (Twins 4th in MLB)
• 2008: 6.4 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2009: 8.4 fWAR (Twins 2nd in MLB)
• 2010: 5.7 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2011: 2.1 fWAR (Twins 26th in MLB)
• 2012: 4.6 fWAR (Twins 16th in MLB)
• 2013: 5.2 fWAR (Twins 6th in MLB)

Six straight years under Mauer, the Twins were a top five team for value from the catcher position. As we'll see, it's a level they've rarely been able to approach without him, although their current setup shows promise.

2014 Season (Twins 28th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (115 catching starts, -0.1 fWAR)
Needing to address the catcher position for the first time since Mauer arrived in 2004, the Twins signed Suzuki to a one-year, $2.8-million contract and made him their primary catcher. Suzuki was well-liked and actually made the All-Star team by batting .309 in the first half, but his empty, inflated batting average overstated his offensive impact, and he rated out very poorly on defense. Immediately after getting a 5.2-fWAR season from Mauer in his final year as a catcher, the Twins got a sub-replacement level season from his replacement.

Other Catchers to Appear: Coming into 2014, there was some optimism around prospect Josmil Pinto as a potential long-term successor to Mauer, but that evaporated as the club get a better look at his limited defensive skills and athleticism. He made 26 starts and wasn't heard from again in Minnesota. Fringy veteran Eric Fryer also made 21 starts.

2015 (Twins 29th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (123 catching starts, -1.0 fWAR)
With Pinto falling out of the plans and no other compelling options emerging in the system, Terry Ryan made the dubious decision to double-down on Suzuki, who got a two-year extension midway through his first season with the Twins. In 2015, there was no magical first half and Suzuki was terrible all year long, ranking last among the league's catchers in fWAR. He still received more than three-quarters of the team's starts at the position.

Other Catchers to Appear: Chris Herrmann served as Suzuki's primary backup, making 32 starts at catcher, but would be traded to Arizona for Daniel Palka in the ensuing offseason. Fryer made seven starts in his final season with Minnesota.

2016 (Twins 28th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (92 catching starts, 0.0 fWAR)
This was, mercifully, the final year of Suzuki dragging Minnesota's catching unit down to the league's dregs. Yet another campaign in which he failed to elevate above replacement level. During the previous offseason, the Twins had tried to chart a new future course at catcher by dealing Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy. The move backfired horribly and was one of Ryan's final missteps, speeding the end of his tenure as GM. 

Other Catchers to Appear: Murphy made only 23 starts behind the plate, posting a miserable .403 OPS in his lone stint as a Twin. Minor-league journeyman Juan Centeno got a whopping 47 starts at catcher and posted a -0.9 fWAR. I must admit I completely forgot about his existence before researching this piece.

2017 (Twins 11th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (104 catching starts, 2.1 fWAR)
Improving the state of the catcher position was Priority No. 1 for Derek Falvey and the new Twins front office. The regime was barely settling in when they targeted and signed Jason Castro to a three-year deal in November 2016. Castro immediately stabilized the position as desired, putting up solid offense (93 OPS+) and quality defense to produce the highest WAR by a Twins catcher since Mauer's move.

Other Catchers to Appear: Chris Gimenez stepped in as Castro's primary backup, starting 54 games and making a career-high 225 plate appearances. Meanwhile, a prospect named Mitch Garver debuted, making several appearances and four starts at the end of a stellar Triple-A season to plant his flag.

2018 (Twins 17th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (19 catching starts, 0.0 fWAR)
The Twins opened the season with hopes of Castro leading a timeshare with Garver, but Castro would soon go down with an injury and miss most of the year. This opened the door for Garver to step up and prove his legitimacy; he led the team with 75 catching starts and slashed .268/.335/.414. Because his defense didn't grade out well, however, he was only worth 0.4 WAR in 103 games.

Other Catchers to Appear: Another veteran journeyman, Bobby Wilson (remember him?), took over as the token glove-first veteran while Castro was down. He made 45 starts, posting a hideous 45 OPS+ but providing solid defense. Meanwhile, a novelty act by the name of Willians Astudillo first showed up, capturing the attention of fans by batting .355 during a late-season MLB debut. Gimenez and Juan Graterol made final appearances as Twins. We can't forget that Mauer himself also appeared at catcher near the end of this season, receiving exactly one pitch in a tearful send-off.

2019 (Twins 3rd in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (72 catching starts, 1.7 fWAR)
For one glorious season, the Twins returned to being one of the elite teams in baseball at the catcher position. Castro helped by providing solid stability in the last year of his contract, but the standout success here was mostly driven by a breakout from Garver, who led the team in catching starts (73) and produced 3.9 fWAR thanks to a prodigious offensive explosion: .273/.365/.630, with 31 homers in 359 plate appearances. His .404 wOBA in 2019 was a mark that Mauer only bested once, in his MVP 2009 season.

Other Catchers to Appear: This was a generally healthy season for the catching corps. Garver and Castro combined to cover 145 of the team's starts behind the plate, with Astudillo taking the other 17.

2020 (Twins 14th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Mitch Garver (19 catching starts, -0.1 fWAR)
Garver was ready to take over as the Twins' No. 1 catcher. At least, that was the hope. The Twins signed free agent Alex Avila to form a platoon and hopefully carry forward the club's catching success from 2019. Unfortunately, both were struck by injuries and combined for replacement-level production, but Ryan Jeffers salvaged the unit with his excellent rookie campaign. Thus, a new hope had arrived on the scene.

Other Catchers to Appear: The trio of Garver, Avila and Jeffers split the catching load almost evenly during the abbreviated COVID season (19/19/18) with Astudillo making the other four. 

2021 (Twins 9th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Mitch Garver (53 catching starts, 2.2 fWAR)
Between Garver and Jeffers, the Twins were in good shape with two starting-caliber catchers heading into the 2021 season. The Opening Day starter, Garver, bounced back with a productive campaign (.256/.358/.517 in 68 games) but once again struggled to stay healthy. Jeffers ended up getting the bulk of starts behind the plate (77) but his performance regressed as he posted a .289 wOBA (down from .346 as a rookie) and 0.7 fWAR.

Other Catchers to Appear: Rounding out Minnesota's homegrown catching corps was Ben Rortvedt, who made 28 starts at catcher as a glove-only backup. La Tortuga made four more starts in his last hurrah as a Twin.

2022 (Twins 15th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Ryan Jeffers (56 catching starts, 0.9 fWAR)
Despite his regression in 2021, the Twins placed their full confidence in Jeffers as the club's future at catcher, trading both Garver and Rortvedt away in the offseason. Their faith was not rewarded; Jeffers got hurt and his bat failed to rebound when on the field. The absence of Jeffers for much of the summer left Gary Sánchez as the leading backstop (80 starts), and it wasn't pretty. Sánchez did (surprisingly) grade out okay defensively to produce a respectable 1.2 fWAR, keeping Minnesota's catching corps in the middle of the pack.

Other Catchers to Appear: This season was a reminder of how desperate teams can get when high-level catching depth erodes. Left to lean on Sánchez as their starter, the Twins acquired another no-hit veteran minor-leaguer in Sandy Léon and gave him 22 starts. A handful also went to Caleb Hamilton (3) and José Godoy (1). 

2023 (Twins 9th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Christian Vázquez (91 catching starts, 1.0 fWAR)
By last winter, the Twins recognized that maybe Jeffers wasn't going to be the guy, coming off back-to-back seasons plagued by injuries and poor production. As such, they went uncharacteristically big in free agency, signing Vázquez to a three-year, $30-million deal. Still believers in Jeffers, they likely hoped that over time, the starter-backup dynamic would shift. It happened quickly, as Vázquez slumped offensively all year while Jeffers emerged as one of the league's best-hitting catchers. 

Other Catchers to Appear: Not one. With both Vázquez and Jeffers staying remarkably healthy all year, the Twins never needed to call on a third catcher in 2023. 

10 Years After Mauer: The Outlook Going Forward
Joe Mauer's career at catcher was defined by unparalleled stability behind the plate. The argument about his shortened prime gained no traction in the Hall of Fame discussion, because voters recognized: At this position, 10 years of consistently elite play is an eternity. Given the resource scarcity, finding a capable starting catcher is enough of a struggle--as the Twins have learned.

They've cycled through a lot of different backstops since Mauer, rarely capturing even glimpses of the impact he brought. (Garver in 2019 was the closest, but like so many at catcher, he just couldn't overcome the durability hurdles.) As we look ahead to 2024, though, there's reason to feel optimism about what lies ahead at the catcher position. 

Ryan Jeffers had a breakout season, and fully regained the team's confidence, as illustrated by his postseason usage. Vázquez didn't hit but was a steady, trusted defensive presence. I suspect the continuity and rapport of this duo played an underrated role in the team's pitching success. Their ninth-ranked fWAR at the position in 2023 probably understates what a relative strength the catcher position was for Minnesota. Thus, I'm not keen on breaking up the position to dump salary.

Jeffers is ready to take the reins, coming off a 134 OPS+ in his age-26 season. I'll take this opportunity to note that Mauer also posted a 134 OPS+ in his age-26 season, and followed up with an MVP campaign in his age-27 season (171 OPS+). That's not meant to overset expectations, but the point is that Jeffers is entering his true prime and has shown the rare ability to star on both sides. It's why I view him as one of the organization's most prized assets.

Meanwhile, Jeffers has a quality veteran partner alongside him in Vázquez, who would basically be a league-average starter in his own right. Both are under control for multiple years, leaving the Twins in the best shape they've been behind the plate since Mauer's Hall of Fame run reached an end.

View full article

[arby58]

Completely agree with this analysis. I've said it before and will say it again: one batting title as a catcher is outstanding, given the wear and tear on hands and legs (not to mention foul balls to the face mask), and three (in four years) is phenomenal. His MVP season was equally phenomenal. His peak-years JAWS score places him 7th all-time among catchers. Minnesota fans will never see that level of performance from a catcher again - at least not in my life.

[tony&rodney]

The balanced use of Jeffers and Vazquez may have been a huge part of Jeffer's success last season. Keeping the playing time near 60/40 may work again this year and fans can expect Vazquez to even add a bit more offensively.

On another note, the Twins certainly could use a few better catchers in their system, although it may be tough to deal for a solid prospect. 

[adjacent]

Reading through this analysis, one can't but to realize that Mauer is a 1st try Hall of Famer for a reason.

[Doctor Gast]

Catching is a super important position & we need to be one of the top catching staff to compete. Signing Castro was one of a couple of great catching moves this FO made. Castro made us viable & in '19 the Garver/ Castro tandem was one of the best in defense & split platoon, we had the team to go far. That year we ranked right up there with Mauer's best years. And will stay the best post-Mauer catching squad for a long time. 

'23 we signed Vazquez. Vazquez took a lot of time to focus on getting to know every pitcher to work out what was the best strategy to attack each hitter, developing trust. Vazquez vastly improved the catching defense & pitching efficiency. Now that most of the work is behind him in familiarizing himself with the team, I expect his offense will turn around. 

'23 Jeffers worked hard on his defense & it improved to begin the season. But as the season progressed & his playing share increased his defense waned. Jeffers in a supportive role thrives, '23 as his '20 rookie season he did well offensively but in '21 he had the lion's share of games & he regressed. '22 he was determined as our primary catcher but he quickly became overstretched, crashed & burned.

'24 Jeffers is due for a regression, how much depends on how much responsibility he's given. If Vazquez is traded, it'll be '22 all over again if he's in a supportive it'd be minimal & we'll have another year comparable to '23.

Comparing Mauer's age 26, 134 OPS (his avg.) to Jeffers's age26, 134 OPS+ (by his far high level mark) thinking that Jeffers will resemble the same MVP season in '24 is ludicrous, Jeffers does not have ability to be great at & behind the plate, he was pretty good at & average behind the plate, for his high-level mark. If Jeffers was pretty good behind the plate & average at the plate on a regular basis then I'd take`him serious. Mauer was not noted for his defense but he had an arm, Jeffers does not.

For the 2 more seasons of Vazquez I expect the same level of productivity, but what do we realistically expect after Vazquez is gone? I expect that people will finally come to the conclusion that I made from the the beginning that Jeffers is not a legitimate primary catcher. Then it'd be too late to get a top MLB-ready catcher prospect because we no longer have Vazquez to mentor them. We'll have WS potential team with no catcher to lead them. Our catching will not come close to Mauer era.

We still have an opportunity to trade Jeffers for a top-end SP, & get a top MLB ready catching prospect to be mentored 2yrs. by Vazquez in hopes to have our top catcher ready soon & for years to come. To help lead the team to a WS.

Nick, I respect your knowledge but my conviction in what I see is that you are too enthusiastic about Jeffers's potential & his importance to the team.

 

[Blyleven2011]

Just like Jeffers small sample size in his rookie 2020 , fans got all excited that Jeffers was the answer , he hit but wasn't good defensively and then injured ...

21 and 2022 wasn't better,  he was a good framer but blocking wild pitched and passed balls and throwing out runners wasn't his specialty  , I can't really  say his hitting regressed from 2020 , because it was a small sample size  , hecwas struck withinjuries again in 2021 and 2022 ...

2023 was a better season for Jeffers as he was better defensively  at throwing out runners and blocking pitches , his hitting was a plus from a catchers position ...

I need 1 more healthy year from Jeffers to evaluate  if he will be an above  average catcher to actually say he has broken out , he has improved but consistency is what we are looking for ...

It's a demanding and a very important position as the leader on the field ...

Vazquez should improve his hitting some , shouldn't be worse , his acclamation to the team could have contributed to his lack of offense  ...

Someone At Twins fest should ask Rocco or the FO personal , why was Vazquez not used in the playoffs  , I'm out of town  ...

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Breaking News!: replacing a first ballot hall of famer who also plays the sports most grueling fielding position is hard!

in other breaking news: water is wet!

[DocBauer]

With all due respect to Terry Ryan, who I still hold in high esteem, what this shows me is a stronger realization as to the importance of the catcher position by the current FO, and a stronger commitment to improving the spot.

Castro was one of their first moves. Garver put in the work, but coach Sawyer gets a lot of credit for the work he put in to help Garver. Then they drafted Jeffers high and not only has he put in the work, but again, even with Sawyer now gone to the Yankees, his replacement...forget who at the moment...has continued to follow a growth path with development. And then the experienced Vazquez was brought in to give the Twins the same sort of Castro/Garver balance of veteran and younger catcher. 

I expect a roughly 60/40 split in 2024 of Jeffers/Vazquez. I wouldn't be surprised to see a little more life in Vazquez's bat next season with that split. And I know some are not Jeffers fans, and I don't know that we will ever agree. Being rather young, and missing some time with injury, his offense has been a bit up and down in his short career, but he's certainly flashed bat potential even before his excellent 2023. Personally, I think his overall game calling and defense are just fine. Even with some regression in 2024...and there's no guarantee he's actually going to regress...he can still be very productive. 

I guess some of us are going to have to agree to disagree about how good Jeffers is and might be.

[DocBauer]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

The balanced use of Jeffers and Vazquez may have been a huge part of Jeffer's success last season. Keeping the playing time near 60/40 may work again this year and fans can expect Vazquez to even add a bit more offensively.

On another note, the Twins certainly could use a few better catchers in their system, although it may be tough to deal for a solid prospect. 

I agree 100% that the Twins should have catching as a priority in the system. I think they've done a pretty good job of it at the ML level with Castro and Vazquez and the development of Garver and Jeffers. Where I'm not sure they've hit the mark yet is the depth in the system. They've added a couple catchers here and there via inclusions in trades, but so far, Camargo has been the only one they might have hit on. By all accounts I've heard and read he's a good teammate, a solid game caller and defender with a pretty solid arm. And the bat has come alive the past 2yrs, but even with power, need to see some better contact before I'm wiling to believe he's anything more than a backup. Still, there's value in that. 

If you follow the milb system and draft closely, which I do, they haven't exactly ignored the position. But it's been a mixed bag so far. Other than Jeffers, they haven't selected a backstop any earlier than the 8th round since. And I'm not sure why.

A] They've trusted in veterans like Castro and Vazquez while at the same time developing Garver and Jeffers, and are content with that while setting their sites on different areas at this time as a result.

B] Perhaps as part of "A", they just haven't seen anyone in their draft positions worthy of a higher selection than the other position players and arms they've chosen instead.

C] Much like their philosophy of mid round arms that can be developed, they believe catchers are "grown" and nurtured and taking "shots" at catchers early who have talent but question marks aren't worth the draft slot.

Maybe it's a combination of all three.

Chris Williams was an 8th round pick who is reported to be a smart receiver with a decent bat and power. But apparently doesn't have the arm, or something, to stick there, so he's turned in to a #3 type who primarily plays 1B/DH. Alex Isola was a late pick catcher who can hit, and finally developed power in 2023, but like Williams, seems to be more of a backup option who plays a lot of 1B/DH as well. 

Right now, they have Winkel coming off a solid 2023 season after being drafted in 2021. He's LH, seems to have plate discipline, a little pop, and is on the cusp of AAA only 2yrs after being drafted. But his bat needs to play up a little more, as does his arm.

Noah Cardenas, selected one round before Winkel, is said to be a good catcher. So far, in his two seasons, he's an OK bat with an even better OB% than Winkel. Not much pop/power shown yet, but a better arm than Winkel so far when you look at CS%. And he might be ready for AA in 2024, maybe joining Winkel?

And then you have Andrew Cossetti. If you ignore 1 game in 2022 after being drafted in the 11th round, he was a complete pro rookie in 2023. He obliterated pitching in low A for a third of the season before being promoted to Cedar Rapids at high A. While his numbers came down, he still hit, produced power, had a tremendous OB%, and an almost .900 OPS. He also had a CS of 27%. It's my understanding that despite the bat, and the quality CS%, there are rough edges in his game as a catcher. Despite being a professional rookie, he was sent to the AFL to work on his defense and gain experience. He showed poorly. But I don't give any weight to that. A few weeks late in the season against decent competition as a first year player he was sent just to learn and just put in some work.

Between Camargo, Winkel, Cardenas, and Cossetti, there actually are some catcher prospects in the system that offer projection. And I'm not including Nate Baez who is a way better athlete than you normally see behind the plate, who is relatively new to being a full time backstop, who has had a couple minor injuries to begin his career and has limited experience so far, but has flashed a solid bat and OPS but a bad arm/CS so far, but who could surprise everyone with a big 2024 if his abilities and "potential" come together in 2024.

The "system" isn't devoid of possibilities. There's actually a collection of backstops that offer real potential. But most all of them are a year or two away from MLB, with the outlier being Camargo. 

What I wish the Twins would do is similar to the NFL draft. IMO, every NFL team should draft a projectible QB every couple of years for depth, and future potential, and maybe provide a trade option. I wish the Twins would identify and draft a catcher every other year, who might have question marks, but snag them anyway. 20 rounds, draft all the SS and CF talent and projectional arms you can. But once in a while, just gamble and take that catcher risk that might turn out.

But as it stands today, the Twins don't have any standout catching prospect. But there are actually some decent options who just might be ready to establish themselves in 2024. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Great article Nick.  I enjoyed reading it so much that I am going to vote for it to be the "Article of the Year" , so far, for 2024. I don't know of a statistic which measures a catcher's value to a pitching staff by calling pitches and by encouragement or getting in a pitcher's face when necessary, during a game.  The pitchers need to trust their catchers. Leadership is an important quality in a catcher. So is knowledge and so is work ethic.  It appears to me   that Mauer, Castro and Vasquez possess these qualities. It is hard to come into an organization, or join an established team, and quickly become a leader. A catcher needs to be a leader for the pitching staff. 

[Doctor Gast]

17 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

On another note, the Twins certainly could use a few better catchers in their system, although it may be tough to deal for a solid prospect. 

The Twins drafted Mauer #1 in the draft & he has become a 1st ballot HOFer. When was the last time the Twins drafted a catcher 1st round? What has been the highest the Twins drafted a catcher? You draft according to your focus. The Twins have drafted much more big bats/ cOF/1B/ DH types in the 1st round & higher overall than the catching position. If you line up our catching prospects in where they are ranked nationally & how far away they are from the MLB to other competitive clubs, you'll see a large chasm separating us.

If your standard for a catcher is mediocre- average defensively that has some punch, then you can find them in the lower rounds. But if the standard is a top defensive catcher who can hit then you need to look in the top rounds. Maybe they aren't confident that they are capable of fully developing the defensive potential of these prospects. so why draft them?

[arby58]

On 1/26/2024 at 5:08 AM, Doctor Gast said:

The Twins drafted Mauer #1 in the draft & he has become a 1st ballot HOFer. When was the last time the Twins drafted a catcher 1st round? What has been the highest the Twins drafted a catcher?

None since Mauer in the first round  (although Jeffers was a second round pick). Before that, Matt LeCroy in 1997, Jason Veritek in 1993 (although they could not sign him), and Jeff Reed in 1980. Would have been interesting to see what might have happened had they signed Veritek. This is all conjecture, of course, but he hit the majors in 1998 and became the Red Sox' regular catcher in 1999. He wasn't in Mauer's class as a hitter, but he was a solid regular player. My guess is the Twins would have still drafted Mauer number 1. 

[ashbury]

11 hours ago, arby58 said:

Before that, Matt LeCroy in 1997, Jason Veritek in 1993 (although they could not sign him), and Jeff Reed in 1980.

Derek Parks in 1986, as well?

[arby58]

11 hours ago, ashbury said:

Derek Parks in 1986, as well?

Yep, missed that one.