Twins Trade Candidate Breakdown: Ryan Jeffers

[Greggory Masterson]

Moving on from the Twins’ backup catcher from the past two years makes some sense. Oh wait, you mean Jeffers?

Okay, we can quibble over semantics—yes, Ryan Jeffers did catch one more inning in 2024 than Christian Vazquez. But let me have this hook (Vazquez has caught 150 innings more in total over the last two years in the Twins alternating setup, anyway).

What's Up with Ryan Jeffers
Jeffers just completed his fifth season in a Twins uniform. He’s had his ups and downs both at and behind the plate, but on the whole, he’s averaged out to being a solid big-league starting catcher. Over the first two months of the 2024 season, he was one of the best hitters on the squad, if not the best, boasting an OPS about 50% above league average. However, he spent most of the final four months in a slump, finishing with an OPS+ of 105—league average. Mind you, that’s still pretty good for a catcher and matches his career OPS+ of 103.

Defensively, it seems like Jeffers has lost something. Lauded for his skills as a pitch framer at his debut, the backstop has seen his performance decline year-over-year until he graded out as one of the worst pitch framers in baseball in 2024. He’s never been good at blocking, and 2024 was the only season that he’s been even an average blocker.

And, yet, he’s still a solid, young catcher with a few years of team control.

The Case for Trading Ryan Jeffers
One of the biggest talking points this offseason has been the Twins’ payroll limitations. The club is seemingly already past their own self-imposed spending limit before making a single addition. One of the positions consistently highlighted as a potential target for payroll deductions is catcher. Jeffers and Vazquez are slated to earn a combined $15 million or so in 2025 to split duties (perhaps 50-50) behind the plate. That’s not a terrible sum—unless a team like the Twins is trying to create spending room in any way possible.

It’s almost impossible to discuss the case for trading Jeffers without discussing Vazquez (especially given most of the discourse around trading a catcher has been focused on Vazquez), so I apologize if I repeat the points raised by Brandon Glick in his feature.

Although Vazquez is in the last year of his deal, and Jeffers has been seen as the catcher of the future, the younger backstop has only two years of team control left. That is to say, it’s not like either catcher (barring an extension) is going to be around for the long haul anymore. Jeffers is regarded by most as the more talented catcher, with his offense making up for what he lacks behind the dish compared to Vazquez.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, he’s also due less than half of Vazquez’s salary in arbitration this year, $4.7 million. He’s not a terribly consistent player, but his highs are high, and teams can dream on what he could be in their uniforms to a degree that’s impossible with Vazquez at this stage of his career. And if the Twins want to get value out of dumping one of their starting catchers, not just salary relief, the choice has to be Jeffers.

Note: If you’d like to see an in-depth analysis of how the two compare at the plate (it might be closer than you expect), see Matthew Trueblood’s Offseason Handbook article).

Comparable Trades of the Past
You don’t have to look far to find a case of the Twins trading their popular, bat-first starting catcher with two years of team control left; look no further than 2022. In March of that year, the Twins traded 2020 Silver Slugger catcher Mitch Garver to Texas for shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitcher Ronny Henriquez. The trade moved value from a position of surplus (making room for a young Jeffers) to a position of need, as to that point, the team had not signed Carlos Correa to fill their gaping hole at shortstop.

Kiner-Falefa was eventually (and by eventually, I mean the following day) traded to New York in the Josh Donaldson trade, but he turned in a good year for the Yankees. He would have been a solid enough starting shortstop for the Twins had he stayed in town longer than a day. Henriquez has converted to the pen and could be a factor in the 2025 season. Overall, that’s a solid value return, given the squad's needs.

It’s actually pretty difficult to find instances of starting catchers being traded over the offseason. Sometimes, a high-quality catcher will be traded at the deadline if he’s on an expiring contract, as happened with Vazquez himself in 2022 when he was traded for Emmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu, who appears to be a mainstay in Boston’s outfield for years to come. There was also the trade between Oakland, Milwaukee, and Atlanta in which All-Star catchers William Contreras and Sean Murphy were swapped, but that’s an exception to the rule.

In 2019, after a good year behind the dish, Seattle flipped Omar Narvaez to Milwaukee for a middling pitching prospect and a second-round compensation pick? Mike Zunino—with two years of arbitration remaining—was part of a package that brought back Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley? I don’t know, I’m grasping at straws here for other examples. Starting-caliber catchers tend to get traded early in their big league career, right before they debut, or on an expiring contract. There’s little precedent for a trade like this, but this series aims to prime readers for what could happen and why.

Potential Trade Partners
One of the factors that makes a Jeffers trade difficult is that “starting catcher” isn’t a general need. Most teams have one, and if you already have one, what’s the point of getting another unless your owner is feeling generous *cough*?

However, a handful of playoff contenders don’t have great catching cores at present, which could give the Twins a lane to close a deal.

San Diego Padres
San Diego was one of the best teams in baseball this year, but its catching room leaves a lot to be desired. Their former catcher of the future, Luis Campusano, has not impressed over his early career on either side of the ball, outside of a productive 49-game season in 2023. Their top prospect, catcher Ethan Salas, still projects to need at least another year before cracking the big league roster.

Jeffers could be an option to hold Salas’s spot warm and would slot in well amid one of the most exciting lineups in baseball. The Padres have a shallow farm system, but a return package could include Campusano himself amid other prospects or big-league talent if the Twins see a way to get his young career back on track.

Boston Red Sox
Boston is coming off a mediocre year, but if they’re looking to compete in 2025, catcher could be a spot they try to upgrade at. Like San Diego’s Salas, Boston also has a high-profile catcher nearing MLB readiness in Kyle Teel. Their current everyday catcher, Connor Wong, is a 28-year-old coming off his best season at the plate, though he was one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball, and Boston could seek an upgrade in the interim.

If they were to take a liking to Jeffers, he could serve as a stopgap and split duties with the prospect Teel, protecting the younger player from tough lefties. Boston has a very healthy farm system and can deal from that surplus to improve in 2025 and 2026.

Tampa Bay Rays
Dealing with Tampa is always fun, and no team has ever regretted trading with Tampa! Hey, put away the Delmon Young Trade Tree. I’m still updating those numbers!

Tampa is a bit of a wildcard, coming off their worst season in seven years, but they’re always a factor and have never shied away from unorthodox trades. They currently have a bunch of catchers who swing limp pool noodles, including former Twin Ben Rortvedt, so Jeffers could find work—if they’re willing to open their pocketbooks. Tampa, like Boston, has a great farm system, so it’s a possibility.

The Field
I mean, I’m sure there is a bevy of competing teams who won’t necessarily turn down the option to add Jeffers to their roster. If a team really likes him and wants to pair him with who they’ve already got, even in a timeshare like that he’s been part of throughout his entire career in Minnesota. So if an owner is feeling generous, a Jeffers trade could be, well, almost anywhere.

Conclusions
As I’ve stated, there isn’t a ton of precedent for this type of trade. There aren’t many competing teams that you can circle and say, “This team absolutely needs Ryan Jeffers.” But he is an asset; he has a couple of years of team control, and he’s inexpensive. If the team needs to move one of the two catchers for payroll reasons, and they want to get something of value in return, the move is Jeffers, though it may not hurt as much as we might initially believe.

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[bean5302]

I don't really have to read this article. I'm guessing every single player on the 40 man gets one of these? Trading Jeffers is non-sensical in a special kind of way. Jeffers IS a consistent catcher, just not he catcher TD writers and fans wanted after a crazy luck fueled 2023 homer-fest. There are plenty of streaky player in MLB. Jeffers is a wRC+ 105ish catcher with average-ish defense. 2.0 WAR kinda guy in 80-100 G caught per year, with another 20 G as DH.

Jeffers is also the only catcher in MLB or MiLB who is controlled by the Twins past this coming year and likely to be on a 26 man roster beyond 2025. There is no way for the Twins to draft their way out of this problem. They either need to pay more than Jeffers costs to sign a FA for the same production or trade Jeffers for another catcher with more control, and then still sign or trade for another catcher.

[Greggory Masterson]

32 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I don't really have to read this article. I'm guessing every single player on the 40 man gets one of these? Trading Jeffers is non-sensical in a special kind of way. Jeffers IS a consistent catcher, just not he catcher TD writers and fans wanted after a crazy luck fueled 2023 homer-fest. There are plenty of streaky player in MLB. Jeffers is a wRC+ 105ish catcher with average-ish defense. 2.0 WAR kinda guy in 80-100 G caught per year, with another 20 G as DH.

Jeffers is also the only catcher in MLB or MiLB who is controlled by the Twins past this coming year and likely to be on a 26 man roster beyond 2025. There is no way for the Twins to draft their way out of this problem. They either need to pay more than Jeffers costs to sign a FA for the same production or trade Jeffers for another catcher with more control, and then still sign or trade for another catcher.

So if I’m understanding you right, Jeffers has good trade value, and the Twins could get value for his last two years of team control, and they could even get another catcher with more team control in return for him in the process? Were you lying when you said you didn’t read this?

[tony&rodney]

Moves can be made, this we know. However, before the Twins trade either of Jeffers or Vazquez another catcher must already be in place. It is worth noting that catcher is a tough spot to fill and the Twins have skated by the last two years with fair results and good health from their catchers. While Vazquez may not be easy to move in a transaction, there would be significant interest in Jeffers from a number of teams.

[bean5302]

29 minutes ago, Greggory Masterson said:

So if I’m understanding you right, Jeffers has good trade value, and the Twins could get value for his last two years of team control, and they could even get another catcher with more team control in return for him in the process? Were you lying when you said you didn’t read this?

Jeffers has some trade value. He's not moving mountains because he's already in Arb2 and there's a ceiling.
Step 1) Twins trade Jeffers for something (not an near MLB ready or good catcher because teams won't partner for that)
Step 2) Twins add a catcher that costs more than Jeffers who maybe isn't as good.
Step 3) Twins add at least 1 more catcher in 2026.

The outcome of a Jeffers trade is the Twins create a new problem, and the current problem is worse than it was before the trade.

[old nurse]

I can’t wait to see who gets the Twins Trade Candidate Breaking Down Rony Henriquez duty. 

[old nurse]

58 minutes ago, Greggory Masterson said:

So if I’m understanding you right, Jeffers has good trade value, and the Twins could get value for his last two years of team control, and they could even get another catcher with more team control in return for him in the process? Were you lying when you said you didn’t read this?

Thanks for the laugh considering the response you got later,it caused another laugh 

[umterp23]

So for all the articles, comments that he is not very good and time to trade him, let's look at this quick FA recent signing.

Travis D'Arnaud, 36 years old who got 2 years $12MM deal with Angels as a backup.

Trade Jeffers and now you are relying on Vazquez and Camargo as your backup or you have to spend more than Jeffers new salary in FA or strike a no-brainer deal for a new catcher that most likely is competing vs AAA Camargo to be on the big club.

Not sure trading makes sense unless you get a steal in return coming back.

 

[bean5302]

3 minutes ago, umterp23 said:

So for all the articles, comments that he is not very good and time to trade him, let's look at this quick FA recent signing.

Travis D'Arnaud, 36 years old who got 2 years $12MM deal with Angels as a backup.

Trade Jeffers and now you are relying on Vazquez and Camargo as your backup or you have to spend more than Jeffers new salary in FA or strike a no-brainer deal for a new catcher that most likely is competing vs AAA Camargo to be on the big club.

Not sure trading makes sense unless you get a steal in return coming back.

 

Exactly, and it makes 2026 look even worse. Actually, maybe not. I don't view Vazquez as a viable MLB caliber catcher anyway.

[Patzky]

41 minutes ago, old nurse said:

Thanks for the laugh considering the response you got later,it caused another laugh 

So the first laugh went to arbitration.. 😉

.

[Doctor Gast]

"But let me have this hook (Vazquez has caught 150 innings more in total over the last two years in the Twins alternating setup, anyway)."

Let me 1st say that Jeffers is very consistent. Look very closely, when Jeffers is in a backup catcher mode, he's one of the best hitting catchers there is & able to get some of his defense aspects around average. When he is asked to do primary catching duties, he's terrible. So Jeffers is very predictable. You can look at his entire career but just look at his last 3 years. '22 he was asked to do primary catching duties- he crashed & burned. Because of that in '23 Twins signed Vazquez to do primary catching duties (Vazquez caught about 150 more innings spread over the year)- Jeffers thrived. '24 Jeffers caught 1 more inning than Vazquez- after a while he plateaus & the longer he catches the worse his catching becomes especially his defense because he really has to work at it.

I'm not against Jeffers but he doesn't have the stamina to be a primary catcher & even has some problems at the equal tandem role. We have to have a very good defensive primary catcher who can hit somewhat not only now but for the future, Jeffers isn't it. If this & next season Jeffers is depended for primary duty, I can tell exactly what'll happen. Boras is Jeffers agent & he'll be asking top primary catcher money for a backup catcher. If that happens we will have another bad salary we can't unload.

Should Jeffers be traded? Jeffers should have been traded last season, he still has some hype where he's worth something this season but if he's kept as primary catcher together with Camargo. Jeffers will bomb & he'll be worthless to trade. We've been very lucky that both Vazquez & Jeffers have been healthy under this situation but IMO our #1 priority is having a future primary catcher subbing for them which we don't come close to having. I've been advocating for years to obtain a very good, possible elite young MLB ready catcher.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I just don’t see the upside in a trade of Jeffers when you don’t have a catcher in waiting.   To me, any catcher trade has to be trade #2, after the trade acquiring a catcher (or at least concurrently), unless you consider Camacho a starting caliber backstop, which I do not (and I don’t think the Twins do either). 

[Finlander]

Catcher is the thinnest position in the system. It is also an injury prone position. It would be unsettling to move a catcher (either Jeffers or Vasquez) without having a plan B, C, and maybe even D in the farm somewhere. I'm not sure anyone has a fair handle on what Camargo is yet, but he didn't seem to be trusted with enough plate appearances to assess him during the cup of coffee he got last year.

[Eris]

Agree with @bean5302  given the Twins lack of depth of MLB capable catchers in the farm system, a trade needs to return a catcher and therefore there is only surplus value in a Jeffers trade if the Twins downgrade the catcher quality or accept higher risk by, e.g., trading for a minor league catcher with a higher ceiling. 
 

This does call into question the Twins draft strategy of generally not drafting catchers higher in the draft especially since good catchers have a lot of trade value. (Easier said than done as players who profile as good hitters with strong defense behind the plate are rare and would likely go high in the draft). Ben  Rortvelt was a second round pick and has failed to live up to expectations. 

[DJL44]

I think the Twins should buy out Jeffers' arbitration years with a 3 year contract and 4th year option.

[Otaknam]

The Twins wouldn’t be concerned about a trade for value with Vasquez, like they would with Jeffers. It is about salary dump with Vasquez, and they would give him away for nothing if someone would take on the salary. 

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think the Twins should buy out Jeffers' arbitration years with a 3 year contract and 4th year option.

I think that's a good plan. I wouldn't even mind a straight 4 year deal at like $28MM or something since Jeffers showed how he was able to adjust his plate approach to radically reduce the K rate over the past few years. Jeffers is a starting caliber catcher so he's a great backup, and he's been pretty durable. I also like that his value isn't coming from pitch framing inflation. I would not want to give a pitch framer specialist a long term deal with the threat of robo umps.

[darin617]

I would understand this idea if they didn't owe Vasquez $10M and had another MLB ready catcher in the organization.  Camargo isn't either the answer or ready yet to be a MLB player.

[nicksaviking]

I guess I don't understand why the Twins would trade Jeffers for other catchers. Or, if they aren't trading him for catchers, what else they'd plan to do with the position.

Moving Jeffers should be amongst the lowest priorities for this team. Cheap and not an offensive black hole. Unless you can improve on the offensive aspect, just accept what you've got.

[Doctor Wu]

On 11/17/2024 at 11:24 AM, Finlander said:

Catcher is the thinnest position in the system. It is also an injury prone position. It would be unsettling to move a catcher (either Jeffers or Vasquez) without having a plan B, C, and maybe even D in the farm somewhere. I'm not sure anyone has a fair handle on what Camargo is yet, but he didn't seem to be trusted with enough plate appearances to assess him during the cup of coffee he got last year.

Yes, indeed! Our system is not exactly overflowing with quality catching prospects. Trading either Jeffers or Vasquez, even to save money, does not seem like a prudent move this coming season. Unless, of course, we can re-sign Astudillo!

[Doctor Wu]

Hey, put away the Delmon Young Trade Tree. I’m still updating those numbers!

I will be eagerly awaiting this updated tree!!

[TopGunn#22]

tony&rodney is spot on when he mentions that the Twins cannot trade either jeffers or Vasquez until they have acquired another catcher.  The steam on TD is that the Twins should be looking to make a deal to acquire Teel from Boston, Rushing from the Dodgers or Quero from the Brewers.  Each are currently somewhat blocked by guys who had solid to great years in 2024--Connor Wong, Will Smith, and William Contreras.  

Each of the Red Sox, Dodgers and Brewers have a need for SP.  This is where a SWR or a chunk of our international signing bonus money could come into play.  But the fact remains, the Twins need to be bold with their catching situation and nobody in the farm system is going to make an impact.  Go out and get that "catcher of the future" and overpay a bit if you have to.  

One team that wasn't listed in the possible trade partners was Miami.  They have promising young pitchers, but probably the worst catching situation in MLB.  Miami probably wouldn't want to pay all $10 million of Vasquez's salary, but they are desperate for a REAL catcher.  And if you added some players/prospects to the deal (Larnach, Raya etc...) and took back Alcantara's $10 million dollar salary or Jesus Luzardo's you could probably make a deal.  It should certainly be considered.  

Once the Twins make the first deal of the off season, which should involve the catching component, then they can decide who to trade between Vasquez or Jeffers.  Then they can decide if they want to go all in on Roki Sasaki.  Which will help them decide what role Griffin Jax has next year.  Then they can decide how they plug their RH hitting outfield hole or their possible 1B hole if they don't think Miranda is the answer.  They've got to make that trade for a Teel, Rushing or Quero FIRST.  

[Mike Sixel]

Please, no. Just no. 

Unless they can get Teel straight up, then maybe, but it's a risk....