Could Philadelphia Phillies' Catcher Search Lead Them to Ryan Jeffers?

[old nurse]

39 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Thanks for counting... but... there has to be more. 

102 catchers caught at least one inning in 2025 alone. That isn't even considering prior years. 

International players

A lot of over 30 catchers hanging on. At 4 m a year they have to hang on a long time to make their 100 million 

[Mike Sixel]

19 minutes ago, old nurse said:

You did not answer the question of how were the Twins to know that a career 700 OPS player would fall off overnight. As you don’t have an answer for that and insist they should not have signed him, the only way to avoid that conundrum is to not sign any players. What’s so hard about that?

I don't understand your point? I'm suggesting not signing him again. 

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Thanks for counting... but... there has to be more. 

102 catchers caught at least one inning in 2025 alone. That isn't even considering prior years. 

Of the 20 who caught the most games according to fangraphs, and the 20 on the bottom

18 were over 30. 12 were signed as internationals.  15 were drafted after 2016

[old nurse]

30 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I don't understand your point? I'm suggesting not signing him again. 

Why would you have a notion that anyone is going to sign him? 

[Bodie]

"Larnach for a prospect..."

Thanks to everyone who has posted this lately (say the last two years).  It is uncommon to get a legitimate belly laugh reading Twins news!

[Riverbrian]

8 hours ago, old nurse said:

International players

A lot of over 30 catchers hanging on. At 4 m a year they have to hang on a long time to make their 100 million 

IFA's should count. If they ain't drafting them... they got to sign them.

If they do neither... they have to buy one of those fancy 30 plus guys. 

[Mike Sixel]

17 hours ago, old nurse said:

Why would you have a notion that anyone is going to sign him? 

Because the post I responded to said they should.

[old nurse]

34 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

He says that about all his players.  That's always been my concern, he drastically OVER rates our players and hence never seems to pull the trigger (see Kepler).

Corner outfielder, sub par bat 3 out of the last 4 seasons he was with the Twins.  The one season he had the hot late season surge. You wonder why he wasn’t trade and you complain on over valuing.  Bennintendi had a better bat. When KC traded him they got 3 organizational fillers. There was no Va value to be gained by trading Kepler 

[Twinsrtheworst]

23 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Yep... I believe you read that correctly.  

The only major league catcher that has been developed under Derek Falvey's leadership has grown old and is about to reach free agency. The only one over the 8 years since he and Thad Lavine took charge. Jeffers is the only drafted or IFA catcher signed under the Falvey's leadership to reach the major leagues. The only one and he went and got himself eligible for free agency on us and we still have our pants down. 

Mitch Garver was considered a prospect already in house along with Ben Rortvedt. Both those catchers were traded and NOBODY was developed to replace them after they were traded. Nobody other than Jeffers since 2017!

If there is an organization with a worse catching development track record in the past 8 years? I'm not sure who that would be?

I'm not even talking about the development of a Williams Contreras type superstar. I'm talking about the lowest bar possible... a major league catcher who hits .200 but can call pitches, frame and just catch a game of baseball... even without a bat. We haven't even produced that guy. 

You read that correctly... I believe with all my heart... that they should just sleep in the bed that they made. Cash in Jeffers before you get nothing for him and punt the position for 2026 at least. 

I do not want them to spend any of our limited resources (financial or player capital) trying to fix this perpetual problem that they really haven't paid enough attention to for 8 years. 

They have a lot of things to fix. If they have to choose which problems to address and what has to wait or addressed with the force of a mouse. Catcher should be what waits.  

I don't know exactly how many major league catchers were drafted or signed since 2017 that have actually played in the major leagues. Someone would have to count but I'd guess over 100 and I'm probably undershooting by a lot. We have contributed 1 of them. 

Sleep in the bed you made. Alex Jackson and whoever (Pereda)...it is what it is. Turn your damn attention to Olivar, Cardenas, Tait, Diaw and Jimenez. You punt until you can produce one and they better start producing more than one... and soon.  

 

But we have drafted and or signed more than 2 catcher that have played in the major leagues.  I mean we have at least 2 catchers every year play in the majors so that doesn’t add up. Also Vazquez was a 3 year signing while Jeffers has been a solid pick at worst.  And punting on the catcher position would only punish us the fans and the pitching staff.  That doesn’t sense either. And how could a team produce one if they punt on the position?  I’m just trying to figure out were you are coming from.

[Riverbrian]

12 hours ago, se7799 said:

But we have drafted and or signed more than 2 catcher that have played in the major leagues.  I mean we have at least 2 catchers every year play in the majors so that doesn’t add up. Also Vazquez was a 3 year signing while Jeffers has been a solid pick at worst.  And punting on the catcher position would only punish us the fans and the pitching staff.  That doesn’t sense either. And how could a team produce one if they punt on the position?  I’m just trying to figure out were you are coming from.

The 30 million dollar signing of Vazquez type performance is what I'm trying to avoid. The spending of that 30 million on a different position that doesn't require the rest is what I'm suggesting. I'm saying that the Twins have almost completely failed developing catching and developing your own catching will not only feed your team but you could even trade extra catching taking advantage of the catching market and the catching market has scarcity spilling over the sides... inflating the prices. 

I'm not a farmer but if Soybeans make you about 900 bucks per acre. And Corn pays 700 per acre. You may want to grow Soybeans especially when the Corn Farmers will trade for your Soybeans. 

I understand my chosen expression of "Punting the Position" is shocking/jarring. We've already been partially punting the position for the past 3 years.

You list Vazquez as a positive example of how the Twins handled the catching position.

I say that Vazquez is already an example of punting the position. Decent defensively and decent working with the pitchers I guess. However... his bat was a complete punt that didn't cost him playing time at all and it didn't allow for any competition either. His playing time was split almost equal with Jeffers. The Twins won the AL Central in 2023 with Vazquez punting the position for 94 games.  

Development? Jeffers and Caleb Hamilton... That's it. 

Here's the complete list of catchers. 

2025: Jeffers, Vazquez, Gasper, Pereda - Only Jeffers was drafted and developed by the Twins 

2024: Jeffers, Vazquez, Camargo - Only Jeffers - Camargo was acquired as a 21 year old. Developed him to 5 MLB games. 

2023: Vazquez, Jeffers - That's it. Vazquez actually caught more games. 

2022: Sanchez, Jeffers, Leon, Hamilton. - Caleb Hamilton makes a development appearance. 38 Innings behind the plate. 19 innings at 1B. The Twins let Caleb go after when the season was complete. 

2021: Jeffers, Garver, Rortvedt, Astudillo. Only Jeffers - Garver and Rortvedt were in house before Falvey and Lavine arrived.  

2020: Jeffers, Avila, Garver, Astudillo - We got us an Avila. 

The catcher position has an average OPS of .694. The 1B position has an average of .750. Ryan Jeffers is one of the best hitting catchers with a .752 OPS and only 406 AB's despite health all season long. 

We can't fill every hole with our limited resources. You have to prioritize.

Punt Catcher... Spend limited resources on positions where the acquired bats MOVE THE NEEDLE! 

 

[tony&rodney]

12 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

The 30 million dollar signing of Vazquez type performance is what I'm trying to avoid. The spending of that 30 million on a different position that doesn't require the rest is what I'm suggesting. I'm saying that the Twins have almost completely failed developing catching and developing your own catching will not only feed your team but you could even trade extra catching taking advantage of the catching market and the catching market has scarcity spilling over the sides. 

I understand my chosen expression of "Punting the Position" is shocking/jarring. We've already been partially punting the position for the past 3 years.

You list Vazquez as a positive example of how the Twins handled the catching position.

I say that Vazquez is already an example of punting the position. Decent defensively and decent working with the pitchers I guess. However... his bat was a complete punt that didn't seem to cost him playing time at all and it didn't allow for any competition either. His playing time was split almost equal with Jeffers. The Twins won the AL Central in 2023 with Vazquez punting the position for 94 games.  

Development? Jeffers and Caleb Hamilton... That's it. Everything else was punted. 

Here's the complete list of catchers. 

2025: Jeffers, Vazquez, Gasper, Pereda - Only Jeffers was drafted and developed by the Twins 

2024: Jeffers, Vazquez, Camargo - Only Jeffers - Camargo was acquired as a 21 year old. Developed him to 5 MLB games. 

2023: Vazquez, Jeffers - That's it. Vazquez actually caught more games. 

2022: Sanchez, Jeffers, Leon, Hamilton. - Caleb Hamilton makes a development appearance. 38 Innings behind the plate. 19 innings at 1B. The Twins let Caleb go after his cup of coffee. 

2021: Jeffers, Garver, Rortvedt, Astudillo. 

2020: Jeffers, Avila, Garver, Astudillo

The catcher position has an average OPS of .694. The 1B position has an average of .750. Ryan Jeffers is one of the best hitting catchers with a .752 OPS and only 406 AB's despite health all season long. 

We can't fill every hole with our limited resources. Punt Catcher... Spend limited resources on positions where the bats MOVE THE NEEDLE! 

 

The Twins situation with catchers is rather remarkable. While some people seem to understand how this front office proceeds with player development, I'm in the dark, totally. The trade of Duran for Tait was such an outlier, it seemed like the thinking went "Holy crap we don't have any catchers, let's trade our closer for a catcher who could be good in 2028 or 2030."  Dombrowski was surprised and pleased.

Different people will see things differently, nothing new there. I'm with A. J. Preller in keeping inexpensive relief pitchers as long as possible. Many others suggest a bullpen is really easy to put together. I guess we shall see. 

The Twins will lose Ryan Jeffers to free agency unless they pay him big bucks. Since the Twins just finished dumping players for salary relief, the immediate turn around in spending seems completely unlikely. Yet, any attempts to understand this ownership and front office group are bound to fail, so we just wait and watch. 

As far as the post on trading Ryan Jeffers goes, I cannot fathom any player worth considering from the Phillies system that Dombrowski/Fuld would actually send to Minnesota. Maybe the Twins could offer Jeffers and someone like Marco Raya or Kyle DeBarge to Tampa Bay for Tre' Morgan. Morgan will have a tough time pushing aside Yandy Diaz, Aranda, and Isaac. Then again, Morgan is not Falvey's type because his value is as a hitter and fielder with less than ideal power. As far as catcher to fill, there must be a few guys in the minor leagues like Noah Cardenas who can catch and OPS around .600. If the pitchers are happy with the catchers, I'm content.

[Riverbrian]

15 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

The Twins situation with catchers is rather remarkable. While some people seem to understand how this front office proceeds with player development, I'm in the dark, totally. The trade of Duran for Tait was such an outlier, it seemed like the thinking went "Holy crap we don't have any catchers, let's trade our closer for a catcher who could be good in 2028 or 2030."  Dombrowski was surprised and pleased.

Different people will see things differently, nothing new there. I'm with A. J. Preller in keeping inexpensive relief pitchers as long as possible. Many others suggest a bullpen is really easy to put together. I guess we shall see. 

The Twins will lose Ryan Jeffers to free agency unless they pay him big bucks. Since the Twins just finished dumping players for salary relief, the immediate turn around in spending seems completely unlikely. Yet, any attempts to understand this ownership and front office group are bound to fail, so we just wait and watch. 

As far as the post on trading Ryan Jeffers goes, I cannot fathom any player worth considering from the Phillies system that Dombrowski/Fuld would actually send to Minnesota. Maybe the Twins could offer Jeffers and someone like Marco Raya or Kyle DeBarge to Tampa Bay for Tre' Morgan. Morgan will have a tough time pushing aside Yandy Diaz, Aranda, and Isaac. Then again, Morgan is not Falvey's type because his value is as a hitter and fielder with less than ideal power. As far as catcher to fill, there must be a few guys in the minor leagues like Noah Cardenas who can catch and OPS around .600. If the pitchers are happy with the catchers, I'm content.

Tait might turn out to be great in a couple of years but the Twins are going to have to develop him into being great in a couple of years. So... I'll have to be excused for being a little nervous about this. 

My question... that will never be answered.

Did the Twins choose young Tait because he's a highly rated catcher instead of? Meaning... did the Twins already pay the Catching over pay in the Duran deal?  

The Twins made a point of acquiring major league ready talent in the deals they made. Our two catching acquisitions were both a ways off from major league ready.

Would the Phillies have considered Miller or Crawford instead of Tait in the Duran deal? Did the Twins choose the younger Tait because he's a catcher? 

 

[tony&rodney]

3 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Tait might turn out to be great in a couple of years but the Twins are going to have to develop him into being great in a couple of years. So... I'll have to be excused for being a little nervous about this. 

My question... that will never be answered.

Did the Twins choose young Tait because he's a highly rated catcher instead of? Meaning... did the Twins already pay the Catching over pay in the Duran deal?  

The Twins made a point of acquiring major league ready talent in the deals they made. Our two catching acquisitions were both a ways off from major league ready.

Would the Phillies have considered Miller or Crawford instead of Tait in the Duran deal? Did the Twins choose the younger Tait because he's a catcher? 

If you can figure out what the front office is doing about anything, please pass it along.

[SteveLV]

Phillies reportedly re-signing Realmuto, so this whole thread is now moot.  Real moot. :)

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

If you can figure out what the front office is doing about anything, please pass it along.

I'm trying. 

I'll need some time. 

Maybe in a couple of years. 

[Riverbrian]

52 minutes ago, SteveLV said:

Phillies reportedly re-signing Realmuto, so this whole thread is now moot.  Real moot. :)

Haven't seen anything official yet but I'm sure the Phillies would love to have him back if the terms are agreeable. 

This the specific Jeffers to Phillies of this thread would be gone. However... more broadly anybody that was in on Realmuto and didn't get him would possibly become interested Jeffers real quick. I've only heard Boston and Texas attached to Realmuto in addition to the Phillies.