The Twins' Catching Rotation is Costing Them

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Minnesota Twins have held to a rigid rotation behind the plate dating back to last season, and at this point, the results are negatively impacting them. Regardless of the intentions, it’s time to break away from such a straightforward playing schedule.

Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

When Derek Falvey dealt Mitch Garver to the Texas Rangers, it signified a changing of the guard at the catching position. While Ryan Jeffers is certainly no Joe Mauer, it was the former second-round pick’s time to shine in a regular role. He had flashed promise in a small sample as a rookie, and despite lackluster 2021 and 2022 seasons, it appeared there was more to develop.

That belief has come to fruition over the past two seasons. Rocco Baldelli has seen Jeffers produce a 136 OPS+ at a position not known for premium offensive numbers. He has done it while owning strong on-base numbers and showing an ability to slug at a respectable rate. After he played in 96 games last season, there was never a reason to think Jeffers would come in and trend toward 162 this year, but Minnesota is following the same blueprint they outlined in 2023.

Signed to a three-year $30 million contract last offseason, Christian Vázquez was supposed to come in and be a stabilizing veteran presence who contributed both defensively and at the dish. He has been fine from a catching perspective, and he has flashed a strong arm multiple times this season when throwing out would-be base stealers. The problem is that his bat has been every bit as non-existent as it was a year ago.

Vázquez worked hard this offseason to increase bat speed and come in with a heightened ability to produce in the lineup, but it has all gone wrong for the veteran backstop. After owning a poor 65 OPS+ last season, it’s hit new lows this year, with a 42 OPS+ even after a three-hit game Wednesday night. Vázquez has just one extra-base hit in 48 plate appearances, and his 12/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio has ensured that his OBP stays as miserable as his slugging average.

It's damnation with faint praise that Vázquez owns a 28.1% hard-hit rate, which is the highest mark he has produced since 2020. His 91.5-mph average exit velocity is also a career high. Chasing at 37% of pitches outside the zone, though, is a career worst. His decision-making at the plate has fallen off the rails.

Baldelli has played Vázquez 14 times, compared to Jeffers’s 20 appearances, but they are dead even behind the plate. Until Wednesday, the team had alternated them perfectly all year, and when they broke that pattern, it was to give Vázquez a second straight start behind the plate Wednesday night. Jeffers has been routinely used as the designated hitter because of his bat, but continuing to play Vázquez so regularly puts the lineup in a position to fail. At this point, he has become something of a guaranteed out, and while his defense is an asset behind the plate, an already poor lineup can’t overcome his insertion.

Minnesota doesn’t have a plethora of strong bench options at this point. With no Carlos Correa or Royce Lewis in the mix, guys like Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro are already playing far too often. That being said, there is still always a bat available that represents a better fit than Vázquez does. Moving to something of a two-to-one or three-to-one schedule for Jeffers behind the plate seems like a straightforward answer.

Playing the catching tandem is likely rooted in an idea that Minnesota can keep both Jeffers and Vázquez fresh and healthy if neither is overextended. That is a worthwhile plan of attack, but it doesn’t have to be as rigid as we have seen over the past year. Keeping tabs on Jeffers’s health and production would allow the coaching staff to see how he handles the increased workload, and getting him into something like a total of 130 or more games this season needs to be the goal.

The Twins aren’t moving the boat anchor of a contract that Vázquez owns, but taking down their ship with his dreadful bat isn’t a sensible plan, either.

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[Mike Sixel]

Agreed!

[roger]

See this complaint as a bit early, Ted.

Considering that several of the guys who would get more playing time if Jeffers was behind the plate versus DH are hitting as badly or worse than Vazquez, ie, Margot, Santana, Castro, Farmer and Wallner, before he was sent down.

His defense is very good and have always heard he is a positive in the locker room.  Also see that Vazquez has had a couple key hits in recent wins.  That might suggest he is beginning to hit more like the past. 

[Patzky]

Hum. If you use Jeffers as DH on a day when you have an above average defensive catcher, that's ok. If the alternative on days Vazquez doesn't catch, is having Jeffers in the lineup as a slightly less adept catcher but you are forced to DH someone like Margot, I don't think that's a net positive.

[DJL44]

130 games for Jeffers is not going to happen unless 30 of those games are at DH. Adley Rutschman maxed out at 110 games behind the plate in 2023.

[Bamboo Bat]

36 minutes ago, roger said:

See this complaint as a bit early, Ted.

Considering that several of the guys who would get more playing time if Jeffers was behind the plate versus DH are hitting as badly or worse than Vazquez, ie, Margot, Santana, Castro, Farmer and Wallner, before he was sent down.

His defense is very good and have always heard he is a positive in the locker room.  Also see that Vazquez has had a couple key hits in recent wins.  That might suggest he is beginning to hit more like the past. 

Early? We're now just shy of seven solid months of watching Vazquez flail with the bat. You named a bunch of guys who might be in the lineup instead of Vazquez & yes, they're all struggling, but every single one has shown stretches of good hitting over the past year. That isn't the case for Vazquez. He's been a liability at the plate since he put on a Twins uniform. At this point he's a classic play twice-a-week backup. 

[Karbo]

A little too early to change, especially with this management team. Keeping Jeffers fresh is the right thing to do IMO. Unless somebody else starts hitting with at least some regularity, at least they get goo defense. On a side note, when did the way Vazquez pronounces his name change? Or is it just a Provus thing?

[Mike Sixel]

26 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

130 games for Jeffers is not going to happen unless 30 of those games are at DH. Adley Rutschman maxed out at 110 games behind the plate in 2023.

That's a lot more than 81.......

[Azviking101]

26 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

130 games for Jeffers is not going to happen unless 30 of those games are at DH. Adley Rutschman maxed out at 110 games behind the plate in 2023.

130 games includes DH time. The top catchers in baseball play 110-120 games behind the plate. Jeffers is on pace for 77 right now. 78 all last year. 
100 for Jeffers should be the goal with an additional 30 at DH. 

[FlyingFinn]

The Twins are on an amazing streak of more than one year plus of not having any catcher hit the IL. What they are doing is keeping both catchers healthy. Vazquez is great on defense. I say keep rotating every game as Jeffers gets the DH some days when he isn't catching.

[Azviking101]

8 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

The Twins are on an amazing streak of more than one year plus of not having any catcher hit the IL. What they are doing is keeping both catchers healthy. Vazquez is great on defense. I say keep rotating every game as Jeffers gets the DH some days when he isn't catching.

Not having catchers get hurt doesn’t mean they’re doing something right, just getting good luck. As I mentioned earlier the top catchers in baseball start 110-120 a year. There’s no reason for Jeffers to be starting the same or less than Vázquez  

[DJL44]

Quote

there is still always a bat available that represents a better fit than Vázquez does

Over the past 2 weeks I'm not sure that has been true, which is sad. Some of the better bats would make the defense worse enough that I'd rather have Vazquez in the lineup and Jeffers at DH.

[Doctor Gast]

If you think defense at catching isn't important then what you say makes sense. But most serious fans that don't follow social media would disagree w/ you. Although I thought $30MM/ 3yrs. is too much for catching, that's what they paid Vazquez to do, so why not have him catch at least 1/2 the games? Especially when he's a better catcher than Jeffers. Jeffers is a better bat so it makes sense that he DH when he's not catching. What doesn't make sense is having Vazquez DH.

What I saw last year as the season progressed & Jeffers was given more playing time, his #s dipped especially defensively. What Jeffers has shown me so far is that he's very good especially offensively in a supportive role but in the leading role he can't handle it especially defensively; that's why Vazquez was signed in the 1st place.

The whole team in general stinks w/o Lewis so I wouldn't focus on Vazquez but I'd focus on having other hitters at positions where production is mandatory that isn't producing to play less. So far this season Vazquez batting has been fine for a catcher with promising signs of getting better. So I'd wouldn't want to disturb what is working for something that probably won't.

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Doctor Gast said:

If you think defense at catching isn't important then what you say makes sense. But most serious fans that don't follow social media would disagree w/ you. Although I thought $30MM/ 3yrs. is too much for catching, that's what they paid Vazquez to do, so why not have him catch at least 1/2 the games? Especially when he's a better catcher than Jeffers. Jeffers is a better bat so it makes sense that he DH when he's not catching. What doesn't make sense is having Vazquez DH.

What I saw last year as the season progressed & Jeffers was given more playing time, his #s dipped especially defensively. What Jeffers has shown me so far is that he's very good especially offensively in a supportive role but in the leading role he can't handle it especially defensively; that's why Vazquez was signed in the 1st place.

The whole team in general stinks w/o Lewis so I wouldn't focus on Vazquez but I'd focus on having other hitters at positions where production is mandatory that isn't producing to play less. So far this season Vazquez batting has been fine for a catcher with promising signs of getting better. So I'd wouldn't want to disturb what is working for something that probably won't.

fine for a catcher? He's 50th among catchers hitting this year. 50th. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

fine for a catcher? He's 50th among catchers hitting this year. 50th. 

I thought the Marlins were even worse for hitting for their catchers.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

10 million for Vazquez seems like a massive overpay.  Is there any other team catching-desperate enough to take on that contract?  It would allow them to try to make a deal for a starting pitcher if they could dump that contract as part of the deal.  Camargo is mashing in the minors but I have no idea how good of a defensive catcher he is.....

[jorgenswest]

Jeffers is on pace for 540 plate appearances this year. Last year only 6 players had more PAs with catcher as their primary position.

[Mike Sixel]

12 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Jeffers is on pace for 540 plate appearances this year. Last year only 6 players had more PAs with catcher as their primary position.

He's playing half his games at DH......he's one of the best hitting catchers in the game, and they aren't taking advantage of that advantage half the games.

[Road trip]

Ryan Jeffers *might* just be the best hitter on the roster.  He's in the discussion at least.  The other possible answers to the "best hitter" question are either frequently injured (Correa, Kirilloff) or have a too short track record to confidently get that title (Lewis, Julien).  Jeffers had a 134 OPS+ last year, and thus far is improving on that number this year.  He's 27, just entering his prime.  He can't be a free agent until 2027.

In my mind, the question is not should Jeffers catch more games.  Rather, it is "should Jeffers move off of the catcher position entirely?"  1b? Dh?  His bat is getting too valuable on this bad-hitting squad to risk at catcher, and he's mediocre there defensively anyway.  Catchers get hurt, frequently.  They age quickly and badly, almost always.  Only a few are still hitting well into their early 30s.  Even the best of them can only catch 130 games a year, and most catch far fewer.  I'm starting to ponder that Jeffers might be worth more to the team by largely eliminating his catching duties and getting him into the lineup every day.  It's too late to make the change this year the way the roster is constructed, but next year?  If he continues to hit well I think I'd pencil him in at 1b or DH.

[Mike Sixel]

16 minutes ago, Road trip said:

Ryan Jeffers *might* just be the best hitter on the roster.  He's in the discussion at least.  The other possible answers to the "best hitter" question are either frequently injured (Correa, Kirilloff) or have a too short track record to confidently get that title (Lewis, Julien).  Jeffers had a 134 OPS+ last year, and thus far is improving on that number this year.  He's 27, just entering his prime.  He can't be a free agent until 2027.

In my mind, the question is not should Jeffers catch more games.  Rather, it is "should Jeffers move off of the catcher position entirely?"  1b? Dh?  His bat is getting too valuable on this bad-hitting squad to risk at catcher, and he's mediocre there defensively anyway.  Catchers get hurt, frequently.  They age quickly and badly, almost always.  Only a few are still hitting well into their early 30s.  Even the best of them can only catch 130 games a year, and most catch far fewer.  I'm starting to ponder that Jeffers might be worth more to the team by largely eliminating his catching duties and getting him into the lineup every day.  It's too late to make the change this year the way the roster is constructed, but next year?  If he continues to hit well I think I'd pencil him in at 1b or DH.

It's an interesting question for sure. Certainly some of us suggested that with Mauer earlier......

[$tryf4Life]

If Santana and Farmer can make it into the lineup then I have no problem with Vazquez. He looks more unlucky than lost. Unlike those other two. 
 

I get the intent here but I don’t yet see a better offensive option on this team. Yet. I see why they are letting it play out. Before the white Sox series it didn’t look like we had 4 competent hitters on this team so another 7-14 days of wait and see who steps up makes sense. 
 

 

[Riverbrian]

14 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Jeffers is on pace for 540 plate appearances this year. Last year only 6 players had more PAs with catcher as their primary position.

That's a good thing because Jeffers has been one of our best hitters... if not our best hitter. We should find him more AB's than what typical catchers end up with. 

However, when I read the article. Instead of how can you play Jeffers more... my mind went to how do you play Vazquez less. 😁

 

 

[Riverbrian]

We know that Rocco is capable of distributing catching playing time at a 2 to 1 ratio because that is how it started in 2023. Vazquez played two games to every game that Jeffers played. 

Of course at the time... it made sense. Jeffers was a young catcher coming off a not very good season offensively and Vazquez was the 30 million dollar dude signed to sing lead vocal behind the plate. 

As the season progressed... it was pretty clear that Jeffers was hitting as well as any catcher in the game and Vazquez was struggling offensively extendedly.

Rocco was able to adjust that Vazquez 2 to 1 ratio to a 50/50 split between Vazquez and Jeffers. Never giving Jeffers that 2 to 1 that Vazquez got. 

It should have shifted all the way to 2 to 1 in favor of Jeffers and it should remain 2 to 1 in favor of Jeffers today and forward. Instead 50/50 is the rotation that remains.  

If the amazing defense of Vazquez is the reason it needs to be a 50/50 division of labor. I will counter that with... Yeah but... Jeffers played every single game in the playoffs. Defense obviously took a back seat when it was the win or die situation of the playoffs. Chips are down... It's Jeffers 100%

Rest... Ok... agreed Catcher's certainly need it. However I'll repeat that Rocco started out 2023 with Vazquez getting a 2 to 1 ratio and Jeffers has never reached that ratio but we know 2 to 1 can be handled. 

Right now Jeffers extra AB's have come from the DH position. Sensible because he's been one of our best hitters... if not our best hitter. He needs to be the lineup. But, I'd rather they 2 to 1 the catching ratio in Jeffers favor and let others rotate through the DH position including Jeffers of course. 

 

[Fezig]

19 hours ago, roger said:

See this complaint as a bit early, Ted.

Considering that several of the guys who would get more playing time if Jeffers was behind the plate versus DH are hitting as badly or worse than Vazquez, ie, Margot, Santana, Castro, Farmer and Wallner, before he was sent down.

His defense is very good and have always heard he is a positive in the locker room.  Also see that Vazquez has had a couple key hits in recent wins.  That might suggest he is beginning to hit more like the past. 

Go figure. Vazquez comes into the Twins system and his hard hit rate goes up but getting on base percentage goes down. It might be me, but I see that pattern with the entire Twins lineup. 

[MinnInPa]

well....as bad as it is...just be happy we didnt keep Ben Rortvelt..who couldnt hit .150

[Jkeady12]

Not a fan of Rocco, his managing style is 100% data driven, continues to amaze me the opportunities to make managing decisions instead chooses his booklet instead. Great managers know when to make decisions that aren't data driven.

[USAFChief]

While It'd be nice to get Jeffers behind the plate more, there really isn't much for bats to DH. So the net effect is, someone of Vazquez's caliber is in the lineup either way. 

[specialiststeve]

Quote

Playing the catching tandem is likely rooted in an idea that Minnesota can keep both Jeffers and Vázquez fresh and healthy if neither is overextended. 

That is the WHOLE reason why he has done this and although I am not a Baldelli fan this is extremely smart. Just look at the postseason and Jeffers production playing every day... Zip.. Was a mistake then by not alternating and keeping them fresh and would be a great mistake playing Jeffers every day. What they are doing now is dead on what they should be doing. 

Spend a bit of time behind the dish in my younger years... Wearing is an understatement for the toll it takes on a body! 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

While It'd be nice to get Jeffers behind the plate more, there really isn't much for bats to DH. So the net effect is, someone of Vazquez's caliber is in the lineup either way. 

Except they did this last year, and to start this year.....this is clearly a philosophy thing, not based on who else can play DH.....

[Fire Dan Gladden]

On 4/25/2024 at 11:35 AM, Azviking101 said:

130 games includes DH time. The top catchers in baseball play 110-120 games behind the plate. Jeffers is on pace for 77 right now. 78 all last year. 
100 for Jeffers should be the goal with an additional 30 at DH. 

The iron man days of catching all the time are basically done.  130 games caught in a season is a unicorn.  100 is a realistic goal/expectation.

Vasquez has been productive defensively.  We probably can't discount how much he has helped Jeffers while he has been here.

I am not going to argue rotation and health, because it worked last year and continues to work this year,  I hope that Vasquez can start provide offense closer to his numbers before he came to MN.