Minnesota Twins Sign Catcher Victor Caratini to Two-Year Deal

[Fred]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

Twins now have the 10th and 12th highest paid catchers in baseball this year. That feels like a weird strategy for this club, especially after trading for Jackson and his (now) 30th highest catcher salary. Eeles was not a "real" prospect, and losing Jackson on waivers wouldn't be anything crazy, but ending up with neither of them doesn't feel like great asset management.

Still plenty of offseason to go, and, as the article says, we're just getting to Falvey's sweet spot on the schedule, but I don't see what the vision for this roster is.

"vision". Can they get braille copies of the roster?

[jorgenswest]

Jackson was DFA’d in September 2024 without being claimed so he has been a fringe player for a while. Caratini is not a fringe player. Good upgrade. I am sure Caratini was hoping the Phillies job would be open for him but I am glad he is in Minnesota.

[rv78]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

This organization is not spending 2/$14 MM on a backup catcher. He will be the primary C and Jeffers will be playing elsewhere 

They were paying Vazquez $10M per year so $7M is a savings of $3M.

If Jeffers is traded and Caratini becomes the primary catcher, Falvey should be fired on the spot.

 

With Bell making $7M and now Caratini making $7M, Falvey has spent $14M on a DH type 1stbaseman and a backup catcher. Wouldn't it make more sense to spend that $14M on 1 really good player that could actually help the lineup on a daily basis than 2 half measures? That is what Joe was referring too, NOT?

[Dman]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

This organization is not spending 2/$14 MM on a backup catcher. He will be the primary C and Jeffers will be playing elsewhere 

That's kind of my thinking as well.  I mean they have to find a way to get at least one veteran reliever if not two right?  Maybe they will be willing to spend more than we think?  Still it seems like trading Jeffers solves a lot of issues (money and player wise).  Not that losing Jackson would be the end of the world, but it would be odd asset management.

They also could hold onto to Jeffers and see how this team looks at the deadline and if bad which is most likely, trade him then.  Still given the reliance on the young roster and now that they have Caratini it sure seems like they could trade Jeffers whenever they want. I'll be surprised if he makes it out of spring training with the team.

[LewFordLives]

For those who think Jeffers will be traded.....why wouldn't a team that needed a catcher have just signed Caratini? I think Jeffers stays put at least until the trade deadline.

[stringer bell]

In a part-time role, Caratini has been a good hitter the past two years. Good enough for a catcher, sure, and actually better than Clemens or Larnach. I don't know if he can sustain that production in a full-time role, but if he can, he could be at least a semi-regular. His defense is pretty good, probably better than Jeffers. This move helps the Twins for 2026 and gives them something behind the plate in 2027.

The roster is still not in a good place, with little proven relief pitching and far too many left handed hitting corner outfielders and DHs. More moves need to be made for sure, but adding a major league catcher helps the club. I don't think Caratini will make the Twins a playoff team or will be the reason they finish below .500. the younger guys need to come through.

[DocBauer]

OK, on the surface I love this addition. Caratini was my DREAM FA signing to be the #2 and work with Jeffers. I just didn't think they could afford him, so I was looking at others in the $3-4M range. Caratini might not be quite as good as he used to be defensively, but he's a solid, experienced option with a good bat for a catcher. The fact that he has almost neutral splits makes him that much better as a pickup.

While recent draft picks at catcher haven't turned out for the Twins...though I still think Cardenas will turn out to be a solid ML backup...the FO HAS made catching a priority. That's why one of the first signings they ever made was Jason Castro. And they followed that up with the drafting of Jeffers in the 2nd round, and gave Vazquez a 3yr deal when everyone else only offered 2. (You can debate that at length if you care to).

I say that to remind everyone that Jeffers/Vazquez cost about $13M combined in 2025. Jeffers and Caratini are a combined $13.6M for 2026. Only a small bump on payroll, but a better offensive combination.

Now, it's possible Jeffers is on the move. Not disputing that. But only Tom P and Falvey actually know what the 2026 payroll target actually is. Financially speaking, again, Jeffers/Caratini are almost neutral in $.

So either Jeffers is on the move...which I dislike for a variety of reasons...or the projected '26 payroll may be closer to $120M than $110M.

YES once again Larnach has to be moved. While 1B is NOT being handled the way I think it should be, the roster construction is too heavy at 1B and DH and potentially crowding out younger, cheaper players with better defense.

IF this signing IS an indication of a $120M-ish payroll, they just upgraded the catcher position. And the fact that Caratini CAN play 1B here and there as needed, with a split neutral bat, only adds flexibility in late inning moves or injury. And there's STILL room to add a Dominguez and Rogers/Coulombe to the pen IF the payroll is actually more in the $115-120M range.

IF Jeffers is actually moved, I'm not crazy about the catcher position for 2026. But I guess that's a wait and see arguement. 

In regard to Alex Jackson, I'm going to trust the MLBTraderumors statement. Were Jackson DFA, and someone picked him up, said team would be responsible for his salary. If not, he could sign with the Saints for more than he'd probably get as a FA. He would essentially be a "Dobnak-like" player who could be stashed at AAA; useful, but too expensive for someone else to claim. I don't know if that's great roster and financial management, but I believe that's how it would work. But Pereda, Cardenas, Winkel, and possibly Olivar as a catcher/OF already on hand, St Paul may have a strange crunch behind the plate.

[Gamblerssoftball]

16 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

For those who think Jeffers will be traded.....why wouldn't a team that needed a catcher have just signed Caratini? I think Jeffers stays put at least until the trade deadline.

Nobody knows what the final payroll number is going to be except Falvey and the ownership group. I think there's a good chance both Jeffers and Caratini are the tandem catchers with Jackson moved with possibly Larnach for a relief pitcher. But, what the heck do I know....

[Old Twins Hat]

What I see is:  Twins picked up Jackson because they knew they would need to have someone with credible MLB experience as a backup catcher, If, If they could not land a second catcher in Free Agency. 

And when you are a low-budget team, you have to protect against an outright disaster.

Because you know what:  one injury to Jeffers in Spring Training and the Twins' season goes down the drain counting on Jackson.

And guess what, after Realmuto signs, Phillies withdraw from the catcher market, Twins swoop in and bag Caratini.

Smart move.  Minority opinion, but, Falvey played this perfectly.  He had to have set this all up in advance; it was just two hours after Realmuto signed.

Not only is Caratini a competent, above average stick at catcher, he switch-hits and can play 1B.  The flexibiiity this offers the lineup, with switch hitting Bell at 1B and DH, while Caratini can play 1B, C, DH is as good as a budget team can put out there.

And guess what:  Baldelli ain't managing and I would bet my step-son that Shelton won't be shy about hitting Caratini or putting him at 1B while Jeffers catches.  (My step-son has high test scores and lives in the basement.  Call me.)

Jackson will not be on the Twins team unless Jeffers or Caratini get injured. 

If there's one position you do not want to suck at, it's catcher.  They're literally involved in every pitch when on the field.

Twins will not suck at catcher.  It's a good move.

[arby58]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Don't make me retract my original post.

I get the reasoning, but I don't think you do the free agent and then the trade in that order. I mean, at least smart clubs don't telegraph such moves. So, yeah, could happen.

I had a boss who used to label this sort of wish for timing 'too cute by half.' It may well be that the Twins will now trade Jeffers, but trying to orchastrate it just right - that's hard. For that matter, if they had reversed the order, maybe the signed catcher realizes he has greater leverage now that the Twins don't have a starting catcher. It's not that easy.

[Doube Duty Dave]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I'd be happy if the move is trading Trevor Larnach to get rid of a DH.

Why all the TD Larnach bashing? Statistically he was one of the team’s best hitters. Dump Clemens and his .213 average. He had a hit month and an half and quickly regressed to the mean. 

[Linus]

5 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

What I see is:  Twins picked up Jackson because they knew they would need to have someone with credible MLB experience as a backup catcher, If, If they could not land a second catcher in Free Agency. 

And when you are a low-budget team, you have to protect against an outright disaster.

Because you know what:  one injury to Jeffers in Spring Training and the Twins' season goes down the drain counting on Jackson.

And guess what, after Realmuto signs, Phillies withdraw from the catcher market, Twins swoop in and bag Caratini.

Smart move.  Minority opinion, but, Falvey played this perfectly.  He had to have set this all up in advance; it was just two hours after Realmuto signed.

Not only is Caratini a competent, above average stick at catcher, he switch-hits and can play 1B.  The flexibiiity this offers the lineup, with switch hitting Bell at 1B and DH, while Caratini can play 1B, C, DH is as good as a budget team can put out there.

And guess what:  Baldelli ain't managing and I would bet my step-son that Shelton won't be shy about hitting Caratini or putting him at 1B while Jeffers catches.  (My step-son has high test scores and lives in the basement.  Call me.)

Jackson will not be on the Twins team unless Jeffers or Caratini get injured. 

If there's one position you do not want to suck at, it's catcher.  They're literally involved in every pitch when on the field.

Twins will not suck at catcher.  It's a good move.

This is plausible. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 hours ago, bustedstuff88 said:

"Modest price" ???

 

The twins basically just blew their whole remaining wad on this guy. 

Not if they trade Larnach and either Ober or Ryan for prospect level returns. There are ways to make room. This one to me screams that there is more to come 

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, Doube Duty Dave said:

Why all the TD Larnach bashing? Statistically he was one of the team’s best hitters. Dump Clemens and his .213 average. He had a hit month and an half and quickly regressed to the mean. 

Clemens can play defense. The Twins have several DH candidates. Larnach is the best one to move, teams are looking for outfielders.

[amjgt]

This could also be concussion insurance for Jeffers. 

[DJL44]

56 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

For those who think Jeffers will be traded.....why wouldn't a team that needed a catcher have just signed Caratini? I think Jeffers stays put at least until the trade deadline.

A team that was really interested in obtaining a catcher could have signed JT Realmuto. He only received 3 years, $45M from the Phillies.

Who is looking for a catcher? Boston, Pittsburgh, Texas and San Diego were rumored to have interest in Realmuto. Boston has Narvaez so they should be okay. Pittsburgh spent their $$ on Lowe and O'Hearn. Texas signed Danny Jansen. That leaves San Diego as the only likely suitor. What kind of return do you think the Twins would get with only San Diego looking for a catcher? There are stopgaps still available in free agency - Jonah Heim, Gary Sanchez, Reese McGuire.

After Bellinger signs with the Yankees or Mets next week, there won't be any good LHB OF remaining. I am guessing a team would rather acquire Larnach than Tauchman, Winker or Conforto.

Larnach is making $4.5M vs Caratini at $7M. If they shed Larnach's salary, payroll goes down to just over $100M.

[karcherd]

3 hours ago, garn from vancouver said:

i am hoping am arm comes back be it middle relief or a fourth or fifth starter material while zebby and the slim reaper get up to speed. 

How much longer do you want to wait for these two.  They will both be 26 early in the season.  They need to find out if they can contribute in the major leagues or move on.  You can't keep waiting until players are 27 or 28 to give them a real shot.  Trust your development and let them pitch.

[amjgt]

Really interesting how many people in this thread feel like they know what the Twins 2026 payroll is going to be. 
 

a) the Twins haven’t said anything about it with any detail

b) what possible incentive would they have to give payroll details? ”Yep. We’re going to be at $110M on the button.” They would lose what little amount of leverage they might feel like they have. 

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Doube Duty Dave said:

Why all the TD Larnach bashing? Statistically he was one of the team’s best hitters.

A player who is slow afoot and provides almost no defensive value needs to be THE best hitter if he wants to be assured of a roster spot.  Otherwise someone better takes his job.  He's been pretty mediocre at the plate for someone in his actual role, he's no longer young with upside and his salary is no longer low.  That is what makes him a trade candidate.  Not that I expect much of a trade return.

It's an indictment of how poor the Twins' 2025 offense was, that Larnach's numbers would rank among their leaders.  He drove in fewer runners than Brooks Lee.  Brooks Lee.  I think the Twins have numbed you to what a defensively challenged LF should be producing at the plate.

This is a catcher thread so I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth on Larnach here.

[PerfectGame]

4 hours ago, KirbyDome89 said:

"The Twins can plan on him as an equal partner to Ryan Jeffers, just as they arranged things with Christian Vázquez for much of the last three years, but if they get a strong offer for Jeffers (either in the next two months or come July), they could trade him and feel good about Caratini as a stopgap primary backstop."

Caratini hasn't even been splitting defensive duties the last three years, Idk if "good," is how we should feel about him potentially getting a primary-ish workload. Also, what is he a stopgap to? Another short term vet this FO hopes doesn't crater a la Vazquez? 

Probably Andrew Cossetti.

[South Dakota Tom]

In my head, this got sold by Falvey to ownership as "we better have someone reasonable when we trade Jeffers."  It's no great stretch to suggest that there are going to be mid-season moves if this team is struggling, and swapping out Caratini's $7M/yr for Jeffers' $6.5 plus whatever Jeffers brings back sounds like something very Pohladian.

[Woof Bronzer]

So if the Twins think Caratini is worth $7m and Jeffers $6.7m, that means Caratini is the primary catcher right?   I'm trying to put together the puzzle of this offseason but I just can't get the pieces to fit.  

[Danchat]

33 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

So if the Twins think Caratini is worth $7m and Jeffers $6.7m, that means Caratini is the primary catcher right?   I'm trying to put together the puzzle of this offseason but I just can't get the pieces to fit.  

You're comparing apples and oranges because Jeffers' number is an arbitration agreement, not FA money like Caratini (methinks Jeffers would get somewhere around $10M per year?). 

The past two years, Jeffers has caught 81 and then 80 games with Vazquez or the other lot filling in the other games which nearly comes out to 50%. If Jeffers isn't traded, then I would expect another 50-50 split.

[twinstalker]

6 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Caratini only caught 50 games last year, he doesn't look to be a starting catcher in this league. so I don't think he's a Jeffers replacement. 

Absolutely he's Jeffers' replacement.  But we're talking 2026, not beyond, really.  He's 32.  And hitting the ball out of Houston isn't that difficult.  I agree with the few comments I've read that Jeffers must be on the block.  It's the smart thing if you can get real value for Jeffers, and this is the only time you can at this point.

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, LewFordLives said:

For those who think Jeffers will be traded.....why wouldn't a team that needed a catcher have just signed Caratini? I think Jeffers stays put at least until the trade deadline.

 

34 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

So if the Twins think Caratini is worth $7m and Jeffers $6.7m, that means Caratini is the primary catcher right?   I'm trying to put together the puzzle of this offseason but I just can't get the pieces to fit.  

If Jeffers was a free agent, he would get somewhere between 150% to double the $6.7 he got through the arbitration process. Caratini is worth about what he will get from the Twins, so Jeffers is a bargain and Caratini is fair market value. Because Jeffers at $6.7M is a bargain, the Twins should get decent return if he is in fact traded. 

[stringer bell]

5 hours ago, howeda7 said:

In a vacuum this would be fine. On this roster in makes no sense. We now have 3 catchers, 4 first baseman but no bullpen or back-up SS. WTF are we doing?

Three catchers--Jeffers, Caratini, Jackson. Four first baseman--Bell, Clemens, Wagaman, Caratini? Yea, but....you shouldn't count Caratini twice and Clemens can play a capable second base and corner outfield. In addition, Wagaman has options and somebody has to be the DH. I would hope that Bell is the DH more than half the time especially if the Twins have somebody that can hit decently at first base. 

There's almost a whole month until Spring Training start more than six weeks until Opening Day. I certainly think the Twins need to add bullpen arms and I hope they don't end up with a sub-,200 hitter as their primary utility infielder, but both shortcomings can be addressed before the games start counting. They have excess LH corner OFs and DHs and possibly a projectable starting pitching arm. More moves should be made.

[NJM]

I really wonder what this means for Jeffers or Jackson

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, amjgt said:

Really interesting how many people in this thread feel like they know what the Twins 2026 payroll is going to be. 
 

a) the Twins haven’t said anything about it with any detail

b) what possible incentive would they have to give payroll details? ”Yep. We’re going to be at $110M on the button.” They would lose what little amount of leverage they might feel like they have. 

I was thinking the same thing.  You may recall that last year there was similar chatter they would need to cut certain players because many people were certain that payroll was going down from 2024 levels.  Of course, that did not happen.

[weitz41]

Kind of confusing move. Must be planning on Jackson getting thru waivers, sticking around and stashed in AAA.

As for a trade. Like others have said wouldn't they have traded Jeffers 1st? So, seems unlikely to me.

I'd say this is a slight upgrade over last season's duo. Which is the 1st time this offseason I've thought that about the team...

[AlwaysinModeration]

9 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Jackson was DFA’d in September 2024 without being claimed so he has been a fringe player for a while. Caratini is not a fringe player. Good upgrade. I am sure Caratini was hoping the Phillies job would be open for him but I am glad he is in Minnesota.

This is the key.  Caratini was waiting to see if Realmuto signed with Philly, or elsewhere.  The Twins likely had this offer on the table.  Once Realmuto signed in Philly, Caratini accepted the offer.

i think they will try to pass Jackson through waivers.  It’s unlikely he gets claimed, but it’s win-win; if he is claimed, the claiming team pays his $1.8million salary, and if he isn’t claimed, they’ve got catching depth at St. Paul.

The real question this signing raises to me is whether they have also have a standing offer(s) out to 1-2 bullpen arms?

Or is there a third $7mm signing for 7s wild?