Is Mickey Gasper In Line for an Opening Day Roster Spot?

[D.C Twins]

If Mickey Gasper is the answer to any question.... I don't even want to know what that question is....

He is certainly not the answer to 'who is a key part of a championship roster construction?" or "Who is part of an exciting youth movement?"

In summary... who f-ing cares what the Twins plans are for Gasper. Ultimately he will be a non-factor in the near and long term.

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, miracleb said:

When I first looked at his numbers (after the trade,) I was very intrigued!  His numbers would "play" as a replacement to Vasquez......if his defense behind the plate were at least "solid."  Now, there is all this talk about being a 2nd or 1st baseman???   If he can't be a catcher....he has ZERO value to this organization!

Vazquez Caught & played 2-3 other infield spots in emergency situations only. Still good to have a bit of flexibility……..you’re right, he’s needed as a Catcher!

[Parfigliano]

I can see him on the opening day roster.  I can even see him taking ABs from Miranda, Julien and Lee.  That's what scares me.

[mikelink45]

Quote

23 plate appearances in 13 games for the Red Sox. He went 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts. 

Obviously he was brought on to take Margot's place as the pinch hitter of choice. 

[Vanimal46]

35 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Oops almost forgot the most important question.  Which is better, Gaspar's mustache or Austin Martin's use of face paint?

Yes

[Doctor Gast]

Fangraph has projected Gasper with 0 PAs at any position for the catching-deprived BOS. Even so I'd venture to say that he might be a better 3rd catcher than Camargo. I'd also venture to say he might be better than Julien at 1B & 2B. That shouldn't be praise for how good Gasper is but for how bad our depth is at those positions. But to say that he can make the active roster out of camp is a slap in the face to more promising in-house Keirsey, who was overlooked for almost all of '24 because of FO's out-house selection bias. Gasper is a far cry from who we really need to fulfill those needs. A Paddack/ teammate Romy Gonzalez with Gasper thrown in would have been a much more productive trade.

If Gasper is the replacement for Vazquez we are in serious problems. I'll reiterate that dumping Vazquez is a big mistake. 1st to trade Vazquez I heard we'd have to eat 60% of his salary, that is only a $4M savings. 2nd Vazquez knows our pitching staff & how to handle them. He has a sense of the game, leadership quality & other intangibles. 3rd his hitting is trending upward. 4th Jeffers isn't a primary catcher no matter what the hype says, just look at the #s when he is backup & when he's the primary or even an equal tandem. Quickly we'll discover that we need a starting catcher but we have only $4M to spend on an expensive highly inferior catcher who doesn't know our pitchers. That leaves us with a very good backup catcher, a poor backup catcher who's a stranger & 2 questionable AAA catchers & saving us zero dollas. Not solving our present or future-catching problems. We have needed a future promising catcher for a long time.

[JD-TWINS]

Jovani Moran wasn’t putting anyone in the seats at Target Field - right? Why would the front office or anyone care much about the guy we got in trade being a “fan draw”? It’s an organizational depth move at Catcher & 1B. Makes some sense if he can make contact at AAA into May - an option if needed at that point.

Team has waaaay too many options at 2B to ever worry about seeing Mickey there!

It’s still December - Teams do not have rosters set at this point - if ever. Deep breaths……..

[JD-TWINS]

5 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Fangraph has projected Gasper with 0 PAs at any position for the catching-deprived BOS. Even so I'd venture to say that he might be a better 3rd catcher than Camargo. I'd also venture to say he might be better than Julien at 1B & 2B. That shouldn't be praise for how good Gasper is but for how bad our depth is at those positions. But to say that he can make the active roster out of camp is a slap in the face to more promising in-house Keirsey, who was overlooked for almost all of '24 because of FO's out-house selection bias. Gasper is a far cry from who we really need to fulfill those needs. A Paddack/ teammate Romy Gonzalez with Gasper thrown in would have been a much more productive trade.

If Gasper is the replacement for Vazquez we are in serious problems. I'll reiterate that dumping Vazquez is a big mistake. 1st to trade Vazquez I heard we'd have to eat 60% of his salary, that is only a $4M savings. 2nd Vazquez knows our pitching staff & how to handle them. He has a sense of the game, leadership quality & other intangibles. 3rd his hitting is trending upward. 4th Jeffers isn't a primary catcher no matter what the hype says, just look at the #s when he is backup & when he's the primary or even an equal tandem. Quickly we'll discover that we need a starting catcher but we have only $4M to spend on an expensive highly inferior catcher who doesn't know our pitchers. That leaves us with a very good backup catcher, a poor backup catcher who's a stranger & 2 questionable AAA catchers. Not solving our present or future-catching problems. We have needed a future promising catcher for a long time.

100% with you at Catcher depth……. I do think 2B depth is rich, just don’t see Eddie being part of the wealth……definitely part of the 1B plan…..Julien has 19 innings at 1B over 2 seasons.

[mnfireman]

Being on the 40-man roster does not guarantee him a spot, nor does it protect him from being traded again. He gets a ST invite to MLB camp so the coaches can get an extended look at him, and work with him.

As stated, he's a switch-hitter who has experience at C, 1B & 2B - but he's not taking anybody's position, other than maybe Camargo, who for whatever reason has fallen out of favor within the organization.

IF he makes the team out of ST, he's a once a week player used to manage somebody else's playing time (hate that term), a PH option, or an insurance plan if the team uses both Jeffers and Vazquez in the same game so as not to lose the DH.

For a "nothing story" about a "nothing move by nothing organization" this is living very freely in many poster's heads - around 170 responses over at least 3 articles.

 

[nicksaviking]

Usually 'catchers' that play multiple other positions, aren't good catchers. If this team didn't trust Jair Camargo, who has caught more than 3x as many minor league games as Gaspar despite being 6 years younger, I really doubt the Twins see Gaspar as a legit catching option.

[jorgenswest]

Let’s hope for a repeat of the Brian Harper story. The Twins acquired Harper at 28 as a minor league free agent. He was primarily an outfielder at this point in his minor league career catching only 10 games in the minors the previous season. They both had productive minor league bats without the big home run numbers.

[Mahoning]

I have the long-term solution to the Twins at first base: Royce Lewis. He was always a shortstop, until the Twins decided he couldn't play there. Then he was at third. Now they want him at second. First base is obviously next, so why not do it now? Unless they decide he isn't worthy of a glove at all and make him DH. 

[AKTwinsFan]

Pohlands sure know how to sell tickets gosh. All the real good players are already done got. 

[TwinsDr2021]

8 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Let’s hope for a repeat of the Brian Harper story. The Twins acquired Harper at 28 as a minor league free agent. He was primarily an outfielder at this point in his minor league career catching only 10 games in the minors the previous season. They both had productive minor league bats without the big home run numbers.

Wasn't Brian Harper in and out of the majors from starting at age 21?

[sweetmusicviola16]

26 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Fangraph has projected Gasper with 0 PAs at any position for the catching-deprived BOS. Even so I'd venture to say that he might be a better 3rd catcher than Camargo. I'd also venture to say he might be better than Julien at 1B & 2B. That shouldn't be praise for how good Gasper is but for how bad our depth is at those positions. But to say that he can make the active roster out of camp is a slap in the face to more promising in-house Keirsey, who was overlooked for almost all of '24 because of FO's out-house selection bias. Gasper is a far cry from who we really need to fulfill those needs. A Paddack/ teammate Romy Gonzalez with Gasper thrown in would have been a much more productive trade.

If Gasper is the replacement for Vazquez we are in serious problems. I'll reiterate that dumping Vazquez is a big mistake. 1st to trade Vazquez I heard we'd have to eat 60% of his salary, that is only a $4M savings. 2nd Vazquez knows our pitching staff & how to handle them. He has a sense of the game, leadership quality & other intangibles. 3rd his hitting is trending upward. 4th Jeffers isn't a primary catcher no matter what the hype says, just look at the #s when he is backup & when he's the primary or even an equal tandem. Quickly we'll discover that we need a starting catcher but we have only $4M to spend on an expensive highly inferior catcher who doesn't know our pitchers. That leaves us with a very good backup catcher, a poor backup catcher who's a stranger & 2 questionable AAA catchers & saving us zero dollas. Not solving our present or future-catching problems. We have needed a future promising catcher for a long time.

I agree, catching position can only be in a much worse place if the only aim is to reduce payroll. I feel that Michael Helman should get a fair chance to be on the team over Gasper.

[Doctor Gast]

3 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

100% with you at Catcher depth……. I do think 2B depth is rich, just don’t see Eddie being part of the wealth……definitely part of the 1B plan…..Julien has 19 innings at 1B over 2 seasons.

Yeah. Light-hitting Gasper doesn't really profiles at 1B but for Julien IMO to succeed in the MLB he'll have to reinvent himself which also means he might not profile as a 1Bman & that is IF he can adjust. They have about the same MLB 1B time but Gasper has much more MiLB experience.

I just think that Julien is much more valuable to us as trade bait than being on the roster.

[mnfireman]

7 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Wasn't Brian Harper in and out of the majors from starting at age 21?

Yes, he had a .233/.258/.362 (.619 OPS, 70 OPS+) over 420 PAs covering 8 years (ages 19-27)

[Jocko87]

25 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Usually 'catchers' that play multiple other positions, aren't good catchers. If this team didn't trust Jair Camargo, who has caught more than 3x as many minor league games as Gaspar despite being 6 years younger, I really doubt the Twins see Gaspar as a legit catching option.

What he said.

Just because there isn't much news, does not mean we have to make what little news we have into big news.

Also applies to life.

[jorgenswest]

22 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Wasn't Brian Harper in and out of the majors from starting at age 21?

Yes. The Twins were his 6th organization. He was released by the Cardinals, Tigers and A’s before getting a chance with the Twins.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 minute ago, jorgenswest said:

Yes. The Twins were his 6th organization. He was released by the Cardinals, Tigers and A’s before getting a chance with the Twins.

My point was somebody compared a guy that didn't debut until age 28 to a guy that played in the majors every year from age 21 though age 35. That is is disservice to Harper. Good luck to Mickey, but even talking about him starting the year in majors is just another Joke the Twins are becoming.

[gman]

Farmer was the third string catcher the past couple of years for the Twins. I don 't remember him getting into a game at that position though. According to his minor league stats, Gasper played catcher in 114 games and 188 at firstbase. He did get into 85 at DH with no errors though.

[bean5302]

Gasper is a very interesting player. I did a quick breakout of him in a different thread. He's always hit well, but he's suffered from lack of expectations. Top round draft picks get the best of everything and faith from their organizations. 28th round college seniors? Not so much.

At the level Gasper played the most in each season
2018 - a22 R - .259/.395/.496 OPS .892 wRC+ 135
2019 - a23 A - .233/.347/.375 OPS .722 wRC+ 115
2020 - a24 Lost Season
2021 - a25 AA - 40 PA .343/.400/.600 OPS 1.000 wRC+ 165. Gasper lost most of his season due to a thumb injury. Horrible timing. He was now basically considered MiLB roster filler based on how he was handled, which also makes sense based on age.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
2022 - a26 AA - 270 PA .266/.407/.453 OPS .861 wRC+ 141
2023 - a27 AA - 188 PA .269/.388/.423 OPS .811 wRC+ 129
2024 - a28 AAA - 204 PA .367/.471/.592 OPS .1.062 wRC+ 179
 

On 12/24/2024 at 10:15 PM, bean5302 said:

Gasper was drafted in like the 28th round in 2018 as a senior out of college already at age 22, and the Yankees started him off in Rookie Ball. Gasper's first experience at AAA at age 27 wasn't smooth, but it was SSS.
2018 - a22, Drafted, Rookie Ball
2019 - a23, Mostly A ball, promoted to A+ late
2020 - a24, Lost season
2021 - a25, Thumb injury, lost a ton of time, was already playing with 2-5 days between games.
2022 - a26, AA, moved off catcher to 1B in May, sporadic playing time still.
2023 - a27, Mostly AA, promoted to AAA late. Played a mix of C/1B early, moved off catcher in July.
2024 - a28, MiLB Rule 5 pick by BOS, they used him as MiLB depth shifting him back down to AA. They used him as utility 1B/C, promoting him to AAA in June, then MLB in August for a few games, optioning him back down to AAA, before calling him up to end the season.

He is clearly viewed as MiLB roster filler by NYY and BOS, though his performance at the plate has actually been very good to excellent at virtually every stop. It's a bit odd, and it feels like he might have been unfairly written off due to age. There's the potential he could just need some playing time.

It's a fair exchange of guys who might have a better opportunity to actually get some MLB playing time with a change of scenery, but I suspect the Twins are just filling the AAA roster spot which was occupied by Chris Williams now that Williams is in the Mets' system.

Gasper feels like a type (overlooked, low expectations despite always performing well) which could provide some value. There is some possibility other teams just assumed he performed well because he was older and experienced, but Gasper's promotions were pretty speedy in terms of games played at each level things considered. That said, Gasper is very passive at the plate, and that's been consistent with his results in AAA. Swinging at less than 60% of pitches in the zone doesn't work at the MLB level. Waiting for that meatball mistake pitch means you go 0/4 with 3Ks. 

Gasper has played 10 games in his total career at 2B, including MiLB. Not sure why Boston decided he could cover the position, but whatever. He never even played 2B at college? Anyway Gasper was a catcher in college, but he played a handful of summer league games at 1B and NYY decided to deploy him as 1B/C. He's been very poor at controlling the run game. The Yankees viewed him as a 1B prospect, not a catcher when they drafted him.
https://www.thegreedypinstripes.com/2018/06/meet-prospect-mickey-gasper.html

Now, as to whether or not Gasper has a chance at the opening day roster? Sure. If he impresses in Spring Training with the Twins giving him a lot of PA (he's been to ST in 2023 - 12PA, and 2024 - 4PA), I could see Gasper on the opening day roster. This is especially the case if the Twins can find a way to improve his catcher skills.
 

[Reptevia]

Maybe he can break Margot’s pinch hitting futility record?

[tony&rodney]

Of course, we do not know if the Twins are looking to change their current setup at the catching position. Much of the conversation is directed at removing the $10M contract for next season due Christian Vazquez. There has yet to be any quotes or even hints that the Twins must remove payroll or are putting Vazquez out there. At least I have not seen it, which doesn't mean you haven't. Absolutely nothing on MLBTradeRumors. All of the speculation comes from writers disgruntled about the reduction in payroll from 2023 to 2024, which is in the past. Gleeman continues to lead this charade. If the Twins are looking for a catcher, they have an entire assortment of players to trade that I believe other teams would be interested in acquiring for their team. Many of us on Twins Daily have concocted reasonable trades that would ostensibly benefit both teams. Falvey likes his guys right now. That can change too.

Gasper replaces Williams.

[Doctor Gast]

3 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

So this years Margot

That's what I'm afraid of. This talk of the opening-day roster makes me wonder.

[Greglw3]

3 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm confused why anyone would believe that a utility infielder who has caught some will somehow replace Jair Camargo much less Christian Vazquez. The past two years have taught us that Ryan Jeffers does a decent job when his playing time is managed. Pushing Jeffers has not worked out and a Gasper experiment could be a disaster for Jeffers and the pitching staff.

The idea that Falvey is not allowed to make any moves is ridiculous. The only news has been that the team expected to remain at the same payroll level for 2025. There are always options. If a budget has been set at anywhere from $120-140M, the Twins can maneuver around to roster the team that they desire. I will grant that a budget below $110M would necessitate a couple of deals that weaken the team. However, there are still options to exchange minimum or low level salaries to fill positions if that is what the front office desires. 

Nothing has changed as far as the catching situation. Until the Twins acquire a catcher, they cannot move Vazquez or Jeffers. I think Moran was traded because the Twins didn't care for him. Gasper is AAA depth.

I see Gasper as primarily a 1B/DH who will catch a little if Jeffers or Vazquez has significant injury time. My hope with that astonishing slash line in AAA is that he might be a late developer who’s on base abilities could be important. Me and Billy Beane think alike! Twins have had too many low OBP hitters in recent years. Thus the sluggish offense.

[USAFChief]

I don't think Gaspar was acquired as a catcher.

He was acquired to be a potential solution at 1st base. 

 

 A horrible solution.  But a solution. 

[Schmoeman5]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

That's what I'm afraid of. This talk of the opening-day roster makes me wonder.

What talk? You mean TD talk?  Did I miss Rocco or Falvey mention that he has a real shot at coming North with the big club. It's all just speculation simply because the Twins haven't made any other moves. So Obviously this transaction suggests a real possibility for Caspar the mustachioed ghost.

[Greglw3]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

** 300 MILB games at catcher? I'm confused. Baseball Reference shows 114 and 115 incollege. That's not 300 unless someone is reporting incorrectly.

15% caught stealing doesn't scream ML catcher option to me, other than as a #3 guy.

He SHOULD be AAA depth replacing Williams as a C/1B/DH option with more bat, less power. And maybe that's where he still ends up.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to believe he we might be a legitimate option for the 13th man spot. His 0 for 18 debut doesn't concern me at all. That's a debut over the equivalent of 4-5 games. I'd put more stock in his MILB career over 18 plate appearances. Being able to hit and make contact and have a good OB% from both sides of the plate could be a nice bench addition, and support for Miranda, less pressure to be the #1 guy every day, and still be freed up for some 3B duty. 

But no speed, no real power to speak of, probably not a true catcher, he should be AAA depth. If he's planned on for more than that, there's probably a wasted spot on the position portion of our 2025 roster.

 

For me, forget the power, we weren’t going to get a power bat for Moran, and not everyone needs to hit with power nor should they for a well balanced team.

His AAA numbers show a .367 batting average and .471 OBP in over 200 PA! I’d bet that there were few, if any who could match that average and OBP both (over 200 PA) in all of AAA. So maybe he can help. I believe more in on base combined with 3 or 4 power hitters for a balanced team. The Twins have come up way short in the OB type players in recent years.

 

[TopGunn#22]

6 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Let’s hope for a repeat of the Brian Harper story. The Twins acquired Harper at 28 as a minor league free agent. He was primarily an outfielder at this point in his minor league career catching only 10 games in the minors the previous season. They both had productive minor league bats without the big home run numbers.

This was my first impression of Gaspar as well jorgenswest.  He's got the contact skills, he's got the mustache, the only difference is that Mickey switch hits.  Brain Harper accomplished what he did with the Twins despite the long shot odds.  He was never a "good" catcher and his throwing was the weakest aspect of his game, but for a handful of seasons, Brian Harper caught a lot of games and did better than many people ever thought.