Three Free Agent Fits For The Twins At Catcher

[Lou Hennessy]

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

As the Twins head into the offseason, the catcher position is one of the biggest glaring needs. In Ryan Jeffers, they have a strong top option, but there's little else in the upper levels of the organization that inspires much hope. Mickey Gasper and Jhonny Pereda each stumbled in their month-long auditions at the end of this season, and the catchers at the higher levels of the minor leagues don’t seem to be knocking on the door. 

Jeffers could represent a good starting point as a bulk catcher, with Christian Vázquez hitting free agency (and the team giving away his jersey number to new skipper Derek Shelton). The Twins could look to complement Jeffers with another veteran option, likely on a cheap one-year deal. It could also behoove them to look into multi-year options, in the event that Jeffers is traded or leaves in free agency next year—but that feels unlikely at best, and might even be a better path to explore on the trade market. 
With that said, here are four free-agent options that could be in the Twins’ wheelhouse, based on the resources they have available and the fit on the depth chart. 

Victor Caratini
The veteran backstop is coming off two solid years with the Houston Astros, wherein he hit a combined .263/.329/.406 and accrued 2.7 fWAR. Caratini’s bat was roughly eight percent better than league average, which is nearly identical to Jeffers’s production over the last two seasons. He’d fit as a solid option to split time with the incumbent, and he could certainly handle full-time duties in the event of an injury. Caratini is also a switch-hitter with relatively neutral splits against righties and lefties, making his fit as a platoon option with Jeffers even more enticing. 

The 32-year-old has had mixed results over the last few seasons when it comes to his defense, but he was a pretty strong blocker last year. He came up short when it came to pitch framing, though that may be less essential in 2026 with the automated strike zone coming into play. 

Caratini’s next contract could be the X-factor here. He just wrapped up a two-year deal with the Astros that paid him just over $12 million. But he’s also two years older now, and teams remain hesitant when it comes to giving out multi-year deals to backstops in their mid-30s. Could a one-year, incentive-laden contract with an option for a second season make sense for the Twins? Would Caratini accept it to come to a team that is coming off a 90-loss campaign?

James McCann
He’s been a popular target for the Twins over the last few years, and McCann once again finds himself on a list of free-agent targets for the club. He was limited to just 137 plate appearances at the big-league level in 2025, but held his own in those 42 games, with a .755 OPS and average defense for the Arizona Diamondbacks. McCann is a career .242/.294/.383 hitter who hasn’t been a starting-caliber catcher since 2020. Understandably, that isn’t going to excite Twins fans. But this list isn’t “which free agent catcher has the best chance to take the Twins to the next level”—as much as we all wish it would be. 

McCann makes the list as a target for the Twins due to his minimal contract requirement, as he squeezes the last bit of juice out of his nearly 11-year career. He would be a clear backup to Jeffers in this scenario, and that might be the appeal at this point. Look for the 35-year-old to get a contract worth $1 million or so over one year, whether it’s from the Twins or any other team looking for a backup catcher to start 35% of the team’s games. 

Danny Jansen
The 30-year-old Jansen was coming off a lackluster 2024 campaign when he signed a one-year, $8.5-million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He went on to hit a respectable (if unexciting) .204/.314/.389 across 73 games, before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers at the deadline. Jansen then went on to have a .779 OPS with the Brew Crew, catching 23 games down the stretch for the eventual NL Central Champions. His bat was 18 percent better than league average in that time, which could give him a boost as he explores free agency for the second consecutive year. 

Jansen is likely to seek a similar deal to the one he ended up signing last year, though he may try to hold out for a multiyear pact this time around. Who knows what the market will dictate for a soon-to-be 31-year-old veteran catcher with a high floor, but limited ceiling? His initial asking price, while still likely to be modest, might cause the Twins to move on as they pursue backup options. But there’s always the possibility that the club will try to sell somewhat high on Jeffers in a trade, meaning they’d have room and payroll capacity for a new primary option behind the dish. If the price tag is similar between the two, the Twins would most likely choose to stick with the guy they know.

If his market doesn’t materialize as Jansen hopes, though, he could fall into the Twins preferred price range: a short-term deal for less than what they paid Vázquez. If the right trade opportunity arises for Jeffers, meanwhile, the team will have to seriously consider it.

There are a few other interesting free agent names that many fans would love to see in a Twins uniform next year, but who will not be in the cards for the hometown nine. J.T. Realmuto is the cream of the crop, but his price tag will almost certainly be more than what the Twins could stomach. Old friend Mitch Garver once again finds himself exploring free agency, but he may prefer to stay away from his former club after they “picked their guy” in Jeffers and traded him to the Texas Rangers after the 2021 season. His performance has also cratered in the last two seasons with the Seattle Mariners. 

And as for Willians Astudillo? Well, let’s hope he’s having fun wherever he is, but it will not be with the Minnesota Twins in 2026. 

---

What do you think? Do these three do anything for you on relatively inexpensive deals? Who else makes sense for the Twins to pursue this offseason? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and as always, stay sweet. 

View full article

[thelanges5]

Caratini would be my pick of the three listed here. I feel like the FO will be shopping in the McCann aisle. 

[ArraezChicken]

10 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Caratini would be my pick of the three listed here. I feel like the FO will be shopping in the McCann aisle. 

Dented McCann's are half off!

[DJL44]

Here's a list of players where the arbitration value is higher than perceived value. There may be someone in here that is unwanted by their current employer.

Player Name - Team - Arb$ - age - years of control remaining

Jonah Heim - Rangers - $6M - 31 - 1

Joey Bart - Pirates - $2.6M - 29 - 2

Jake Rogers - Tigers - $3.25M - 31 - 1

Logan O'Hoppe - Angels $2.75M - 26 - 3

Ben Rortvedt - Dodgers $1.25M - 28 - 3

Connor Wong - Red Sox $1.75M - 30 - 3

[DJL44]

19 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Caratini would be my pick of the three listed here. I feel like the FO will be shopping in the McCann aisle. 

I don't see them paying both Caratini and Jeffers, but I could see them signing Caratini and trading Jeffers.

[sweetmusicviola16]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I don't see them paying both Caratini and Jeffers, but I could see them signing Caratini and trading Jeffers.

This 100%. It's a scenario that's been rolling around in my head too. People are very attached to Jeffers, but this 2026 Twins team does not look competitive. They should be looking at every angle to improve the team moving forward. Cash out on the return for Jeffers who will be gone after the season. Sign a veteran replacement who also has the potential to return a prospect in July. Like it or not, call it what you want, but this is a rebuild and this is what rebuilds do. A guy like Caratini fits the bill, then you also need a second C to team with him.

[dberthia]

This is just another example pointing out how much the Falvey regime has failed to develop its own internal talent pipeline. Having to overpay for mediocre free agents isn't a sustainable strategy.

[rdehring]

Was wondering about Rortvedt while reading this.  Then saw his name in the comments but was surprised he was with the Dodgers.  Recall he had a great start last year with Tampa.  Must have missed the trade to the Dodgers.  Recall he was thought to be very good defensively so he again could be a good backup to Jeffers.

[DJL44]

Many of the top teams have a solid catcher already. Here is the "demand" side of the ledger for free agent catchers.

Biggest holes at C

1) Phillies - Realmuto is a free agent. The Phillies have not hesitated to pay the price to acquire talent from the Twins.

2) Boston - Carlos Narvaez is a good defender but they could use more offense. 

3) Rangers - Jeffers for Heim + prospects could be an interesting swap.

4) LA Angels - Logan O'Hoppe is not going to get them to the playoffs

Fangraphs just put out their top 50 free agents article. Their crowdsourced contract estimates are:

JT Realmuto 2 years $30M

Victor Caratini 1 year $6M

Danny Jansen 1 year $8M

I would still prefer giving Jeffers an extension to any of the free agent or trade options. They have the cash to make it happen.

[farmerguychris]

If they proceed and trade Jeffers, I expect 2 minimum salary guys back there as its a signal we know we won't compete.  If we keep Ryan, then some cheap vet is one direction they could go, but I would expect a more likely result would be bringing up someone from our farm system to be his back-up with Ryan playing 90% of the time behind the dish.

[DJL44]

14 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Was wondering about Rortvedt while reading this.  Then saw his name in the comments but was surprised he was with the Dodgers.  Recall he had a great start last year with Tampa.  Must have missed the trade to the Dodgers.  Recall he was thought to be very good defensively so he again could be a good backup to Jeffers.

Quote

Through late May, he had a .095/.186/.111 slash line. He was designated for assignment and no club claimed him off waivers. A couple of months later, the Dodgers picked up him as part of a three-team trade with the Rays and Reds.

 

[Mike Sixel]

33 minutes ago, dberthia said:

This is just another example pointing out how much the Falvey regime has failed to develop its own internal talent pipeline. Having to overpay for mediocre free agents isn't a sustainable strategy.

Every one of these guys will get signed by some team. Are they all bad at this?

[LA Vikes Fan]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Here's a list of players where the arbitration value is higher than perceived value. There may be someone in here that is unwanted by their current employer.

Player Name - Team - Arb$ - age - years of control remaining

Jonah Heim - Rangers - $6M - 31 - 1

Joey Bart - Pirates - $2.6M - 29 - 2

Jake Rogers - Tigers - $3.25M - 31 - 1

Logan O'Hoppe - Angels $2.75M - 26 - 3

Ben Rortvedt - Dodgers $1.25M - 28 - 3

Connor Wong - Red Sox $1.75M - 30 - 3

Interesting list, but I would take O'Hoppe off of it. He ahd a down year in 2025 but he had a good 2024 and the Angels publicly see him as their solution to the C spot for the next 5-8 years. He's not going to be available. 

Rortvedt should be, on the other had. He and Jonah Heim would be interesting possibilities. 

[Cris E]

The MLB Trade Rumors article on trade candidates listed Heim from Texas in their top 40. He was good two years ago but then regressed, but some of the lost value was in framing and that might cease to be a valuable skill once the lasers arrive. He makes the same as Jeffers but his market value is probably lower so getting him would take less than what they'd get for Jeffers. OTOH he might be worse for the same money and we still wouldn't have a backup.  Whatever, dumping Jeffers is a dumb trade unless they get some Wonka-grade prize in return. 

[DJL44]

51 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

Interesting list, but I would take O'Hoppe off of it. He ahd a down year in 2025 but he had a good 2024 and the Angels publicly see him as their solution to the C spot for the next 5-8 years. He's not going to be available. 

That explains a lot about the Angels organization.

[Western SD Fan]

I'll make the same comment as I did on the Christian Vazquez thread earlier this week.  Try for Jansen or Caratini if they trade Jeffers and offer either of them a 2-yr contract to try to build the bridge to Tait or Enrique Jimenez coming out of the minors.  If they don't trade Jeffers, then try for McCann as I think he will be the best catcher as a pure backup for Jeffers.  I'm guessing the Twins are not signing back Vazquez since they gave away his jersey number to some scrub named Derek Shelton.

[DocBauer]

Caratini would be an excellent choice. And there's a decent chance he's got a couple solid years left in him. But I don't think the $ will work. 

While he saw limited action in 2025, I can see McCann for 1yr in the $3M range, which is probably max for the Twins. He could be a valuable 30-35% games caught guy.

I might add Elias Diaz to the list as well. He's had a solid career and was still an effective hitter in 2024. He bottomed out in 2025. The Padres, I believe, hold a $7M option for 2026 that I doubt they will pick up. Even though he'll be 35yo, I could see a rebound season from him on a 1yr deal.

[Blyleven2011]

Damn sure could use some fun , williams astudillo would sure be my choice over Gasper as backup  ...

But you can bet Gasper is falveys guy , I hope im wrong and gasper get DFA'd ...

[Otaknam]

Not sure why Jansen’s year was “respectable (if unexciting) .204/.314/.389 across 73 games”. Since when is a .204 BA and OPS .703 respectable? I guess I’m getting old.

[TJSweens]

19 hours ago, farmerguychris said:

If they proceed and trade Jeffers, I expect 2 minimum salary guys back there as its a signal we know we won't compete.  If we keep Ryan, then some cheap vet is one direction they could go, but I would expect a more likely result would be bringing up someone from our farm system to be his back-up with Ryan playing 90% of the time behind the dish.

I think the Twins have already sent up numerous signals that they won't compete.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

Not sure why Jansen’s year was “respectable (if unexciting) .204/.314/.389 across 73 games”. Since when is a .204 BA and OPS .703 respectable? I guess I’m getting old.

Exactly!  How low has MLB sunk?

[farmerguychris]

1 hour ago, TJSweens said:

I think the Twins have already sent up numerous signals that they won't compete.

I know you're right - I'm just trying to ignore them and hope my gut is wrong.

[LambchoP]

I get that we're going into a rebuild and we should get as much value as we can from players like Jeffers who are probably gone in another year or two. That said, our catching depth is crap, and we are also going to be running out a lot of young pitchers who are going to need to develop St the major league level. We need a solid catcher who can handle a young and inexperienced pitching staff. A cheap vet on a one or two year deal would be great if we keep Jeffers. If we trade him, I don't think it will matter much. Jiminez? (The guy catcher we got for Paddack) and Tate are a few years away still, we need someone to get us by until they are ready.

[TopGunn#22]

 "Caratini’s next contract could be the X-factor here. He just wrapped up a two-year deal with the Astros that paid him just over $12 million. But he’s also two years older now, and teams remain hesitant when it comes to giving out multi-year deals to backstops in their mid-30s. Could a one-year, incentive-laden contract with an option for a second season make sense for the Twins? Would Caratini accept it to come to a team that is coming off a 90-loss campaign?" 

I guess "Teams remain hesitant when it comes to offering multi year contracts to backstops in their mid 30's (I would add "who don't hit exceptionally well")  EXCEPT THE TWINS---Christian Vasquez.  

[Riverbrian]

18 hours ago, LambchoP said:

I get that we're going into a rebuild and we should get as much value as we can from players like Jeffers who are probably gone in another year or two. That said, our catching depth is crap, and we are also going to be running out a lot of young pitchers who are going to need to develop St the major league level. We need a solid catcher who can handle a young and inexperienced pitching staff. A cheap vet on a one or two year deal would be great if we keep Jeffers. If we trade him, I don't think it will matter much. Jiminez? (The guy catcher we got for Paddack) and Tate are a few years away still, we need someone to get us by until they are ready.

Unless Jeffers is extended. He's gone after this year. Letting him go and getting nothing in return would be something that a team planning on a playoff run would do. 

Catchers are scarce.

Caratini is probably the 2nd best free agent catching option available. The top free agent option Realmuto is 35 years old. Nearly every team needs catching because the back up catcher gets playing time because the primary requires significant rest. Vazquez is probably the 4th best catching free agent option. 

Instead of getting into a Caratini bidding war. They should take advantage of a potential Jeffers bidding war. 

Our catching depth is crap. The position has not been a priority for the Twins. We just paid 30 million for Vazquez and there should be no desire to do anything similar again. Apparently Vazquez was impossible to replace despite a consistent unwavering .500 OPS for the length of the contract. Players with defensive ability who OPS in the .500 range will be released in the coming days. Just scoop those guys up for free.

They should sleep in the bed they made so they can spend limited resources on other positions. Instead of overpaying for Caratini to correct this long term mistake. Just punt the position.

Rortvedt, Dom Nunez and Pereda. I'm good. 

 

[Major League Ready]

On 11/5/2025 at 12:28 PM, dberthia said:

This is just another example pointing out how much the Falvey regime has failed to develop its own internal talent pipeline. Having to overpay for mediocre free agents isn't a sustainable strategy.

Agree it's not a good strategy.  The team has actually done a good job of signing modest price free agents like Santana, MAT, Bader, etc.  Those are great additions to a strong core but we don't have a strong core.  Therefore, asking the team to spend money of free agents, even good ones, is very unlikely to be successful.  Yet here we are with TD articles calling for them to follow an unsustainable strategy. 

If they continue the rebuild, free agents won't be part of the plan in 2026.  Not because of payroll but because it makes absolutely no sense for a rebuilding team.  The low payroll just makes it easier for them to follow that path.  I would prefer they trade for a guy that's ready or close to ready instead of trying to squeeze 78 wins out of 2026?

[DJL44]

14 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

If they continue the rebuild, free agents won't be part of the plan in 2026.  Not because of payroll but because it makes absolutely no sense for a rebuilding team

Trading Bader worked out quite nicely for them. It's often a good idea to stash tradeable veterans, especially in the bullpen. Buy low in February and sell high in July.

[Major League Ready]

9 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Trading Bader worked out quite nicely for them. It's often a good idea to stash tradeable veterans, especially in the bullpen. Buy low in February and sell high in July.

I definitely could see them signing a couple BP arms and flipping them at the deadline like the Royals did with Chapman.  That would be a good move.  They don't have enough ready arms to fill the BP.  That will take time so they are not sacrificing playing time for players that are potentially a solution.  

Position players is a different animal this year IMO.  Signing Bader this year would mean taking playing time from Jenkins/Rodriguez/Martin/Roden?etc who are all potential long-term solutions.  That is a very bad idea for a rebuilding team and a good way to remain mediocre.   Same is true for SS and 3B.  2B is probably set with Keaschall.  Do we want to sign someone to play SS and take playing time from Culpepper/Lee.  Do we want a veteran to play 3B and keep Lewis out.   

1B is where you could argue they would not be taking playing time from a potential solution.  They are not signing Josh Naylor in a year they don't expect to contend.  Hoskins is no better than Clemen given Clemens defense and versatility.  I would much rather trade for a long-term solution or even give Fedko a shot.  

Other than 1B or BU Catcher where would a veteran not take playing time from a player that could be part of the solution?  If they want to sign Caratini and trade Jeffers that's a different deal.