Catching Questions.

[stringer bell]

The signing of Victor Caratini has shaken up what was assumed the roles of the catchers will be in 2026. Prior to inking Caratini, Ryan Jeffers was thought to be promoted to #1 catcher where, if healthy, he would start behind the plate in excess of 100 games. Alex Jackson was thought to have been penciled in as Jeffers' backup with Jhonny Pereda the third catcher who would play in AAA but be available to play for the Twins in the event of injury. A brief thumbnail of each:

Jeffers is starting his sixth full season with the Twins and has shared the catching duties since 2020 if healthy. Jeffers has been durable and productive for a catcher, with his best year being 2023. Jeffers isn't strong defensively, but seems to call a good game. Jeffers will turn 29 in June and be a free agent after the 2026 season.

Jackson is a former first round draft choice who has played for five teams and accumulated over three years of service time with only 440 plate appearances. He turned 30 on Christmas Day and is regarded as a good defender with a good arm. His offense has been spotty even for a backup catcher, although he hit with some power at his last stop (Baltimore). Jackson has no minor league options and agreed to a $1.35M deal to avoid arbitration.

Pereda will be 30 in April and has less than a year of service time while playing for three teams. He has minor league options remaining. In his "cup of coffee" with the Twins, Pareda looked to be an aggressive defender unafraid to throw behind runners although not necessarily accurate. As a hitter, he would also appear to be aggressive without good results.

Add Caratini, a 32-year-old seven year veteran switch hitter who has never been a "regular" catcher but who has hit well the last two years and has a decent rep as a receiver, with the weakest part of his defensive game being his throwing. Caratini has played some first base as well and given the Twins'  options there might get quite a bit of time there in 2026. 

Now the questions: Do the Twins turn around and trade Jeffers? Do the Twins still plan to use Jeffers as their #1 catcher or revert to alternating or even platooning Jeffers and Caratini? Will Caratini be part of the first base mix? Are the Twins willing to lose Jackson, who would appear to be the best defender of the four, by DFAing him before the start of the regular season? Is Pereda going to be DFA'd to make room for Caratini? Would the Twins spend large parts of the season with three catchers on the active roster? Is there any market for Jackson? 

I'll add a couple comments here as well. Until both Vazquez and Jeffers went down late in 2025, the Twins had seen phenomenal health and durability from their catchers. It really can't and shouldn't be counted on that two catchers will get all the innings in a season. I can't see Jackson moving back and forth between St. Paul and the Twins. Too many catchers get injured and if he would be DFA'd multiple times someone will claim him if he has any value at all. Jeffers has quite a bit of value and I could see him being moved, although right now not many teams are looking for a #1 catcher. I do think that if he stays with the Twins Jeffers will get full-time work as a catcher and likely a RH DH. I suspect Caratini gets quite a bit of time at first base, especially if Kody Clemens can't sustain his mini-breakthrough of 2025, Caratini also provides a floor for the 2027 catching corps.

What path do you (TD faithful) think the Twins will take? Was this a good move? Please comment with your thoughts.

 

 

[jorgenswest]

The Twins have a better roster. It was a good move. I would hold onto Jeffers now and risk losing Jackson to DFA. There might be a team willing to overpay in season if they are hit by a significant injury and the best available catcher is Sandy Leon.

In the meantime let’s hope at least one of Cardenas, Olivar, Crosetti, Winkel or Baez takes a step forward and is worthy of giving a shot as a back up to Caratini mid season. Otherwise they will have Pereda and maybe Jackson as the floor.

[stringer bell]

22 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

The Twins have a better roster. It was a good move. I would hold onto Jeffers now and risk losing Jackson to DFA. There might be a team willing to overpay in season if they are hit by a significant injury and the best available catcher is Sandy Leon.

In the meantime let’s hope at least one of Cardenas, Olivar, Crosetti, Winkel or Baez takes a step forward and is worthy of giving a shot as a back up to Caratini mid season. Otherwise they will have Pereda and maybe Jackson as the floor.

The Twins traded for two minor league catchers in August, a minor league catcher in the Rule V, claimed and then traded for Jackson and now have signed Caratini. Add the five guys named above and that is quite a revamp of the catching position in the organization. 

[bunsen82]

29 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

The Twins traded for two minor league catchers in August, a minor league catcher in the Rule V, claimed and then traded for Jackson and now have signed Caratini. Add the five guys named above and that is quite a revamp of the catching position in the organization. 

The talent level in the minors catcher has improved significantly.  You have potential MLB talent at every level.  AA and AAA are weaker on high upside prospects.  

MLB - Jeffers, Caratini   (Jackson)

AAA - Pereda, (Jackson),  Cardenas Winkel

AA  - Baez Cossetti Oliver 

A+ - Tait, Diaw, Ferrer

A Jiminez,  Pena, Pena

International  -  Carabello

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

The Twins traded for two minor league catchers in August, a minor league catcher in the Rule V, claimed and then traded for Jackson and now have signed Caratini. Add the five guys named above and that is quite a revamp of the catching position in the organization. 

It was necessary and they did really well adding the three promising ten age catchers. hope that Tait is in the majors sometime at 27. I am also hoping someone from the current AA and AAA group emerges as a back up option.

[jctwins]

Seems pretty obvious to me that considering Casper was their third option in 2025 they needed a new third option. When one catcher goes down, which is inevitable, you need two viable options. If they move Jeffers, they need two guys. When they lose Jeffers at the end of 2026 no matter what, they have two guys.

 

[DocBauer]

I just can't believe the plan would be to keep the core of the team intact...which the Twins have been pretty vocal about...and then ADD Caratini to STENGTHEN the position/team with a better duo, and then turn around and WEAKEN the position/team by moving Jeffers and going with a pair of backups as your new duo for the season.

What could Jeffers bring back that would make enough of a difference to improve the team in one area but also weaken the team in another, and make a positive affect? 

I don't see the logic of a team that keeps their core in an attempt to compete in the ALC but would play a game of positive/negative with an endgame that wouldn't do anything to actually create a positive. 

I'm only guessing here, but I think Falvey has more $ to play with than has been speculated. Jackson set the floor, Caratini raised the floor. Jackson could be traded. He could also be DFA and hide in St Paul the way Dobnak "hid" there. 

With the debatable Larnach still on the roster taking up $4.5M, th3 payroll sits about $100M AFTER the Caratini signing. So what if the payroll is actually $110-115M? That means you IMPROVED by adding Caratini and STILL have some $ to add some veteran arms to the pen for depth and experience. Meanwhile, ownership still has a payroll less than they finished 2025 with.

Why does that make more sense to me?

Now, you tell me the budget is $120M and we can move Larnach's $4.5M? I've got another idea. But for now, my gut is telling me Jeffers is sticking around and this was an unexpected move to actually make the team better. 

[nicksaviking]

Unless one were to buy into 100 PA for a 30-year-old journeyman, Alex Jackson isn't very good. 

My hope is that while they were late to come to this conclusion, the Twins simply ended up realizing that counting on a guy like this who has NO options was a poor decision in the first place, and that Jackson is highly unlikely to make the team out of spring training.

[DocBauer]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Unless one were to buy into 100 PA for a 30-year-old journeyman, Alex Jackson isn't very good. 

My hope is that while they were late to come to this conclusion, the Twins simply ended up realizing that counting on a guy like this who has NO options was a poor decision in the first place, and that Jackson is highly unlikely to make the team out of spring training.

I believe he was simply a floor setter until things got further down the road. I didn't like moving Eeles in the deal simply due to depth at St Paul, regardless if he ever turns out to be a ML player of any sort. But similar to Farmer a few years ago...albeit on a somewhat smaller scale...they "got a guy" to fill a spot. Then the opportunity came along to add a better guy.

I don't know if they will try and move Jackson somewhere, or if he just ends up DFA. If someone claims him, the Twins financially are only out about $550,000. It's also likely he goes unclaimed, and like Dobnak the past few years, he would be a guy you could bring up, waive, and would probably re-sign with St Paul again. 

But then again, they've still got Pereda as a rostered #3 catcher, Cardenas, and Winkel already at AAA. And if they promote Olivar to St Paul...while mostly a LF...that gives them yet another guy who can catch. So I don't know that the roster management for acquiring Jackson was all that smart, even for the cost conscious Twins, his contract isn't any hindrance. 

[bean5302]

Let's be honest. Jeffers is not part of the core of this team. He's an average-ish starting MLB catcher with an upside of about 2.5 WAR and a median of about 1.8 WAR and entering his last season of team control. His game power evaporated, but his raw power remains well above average and his improved plate discipline makes him less of a 1 tricky pony for improved projectability.

That's fine and good, but unlike guys like Buxton, Lopez and Ryan who all have expected production at 3+ WAR with ceilings in that 4-5 range, Jeffers isn't a critical piece of the puzzle in a vacuum.

Caratini should be pretty much a slot in replacement compared to what I would expect from Jefferst this year.

I don't understand the signing of Caratini without trading Jeffers. It's bizarre IMHO.

[old nurse]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I believe he was simply a floor setter until things got further down the road. I didn't like moving Eeles in the deal simply due to depth at St Paul, regardless if he ever turns out to be a ML player of any sort. But similar to Farmer a few years ago...albeit on a somewhat smaller scale...they "got a guy" to fill a spot. Then the opportunity came along to add a better guy.

I don't know if they will try and move Jackson somewhere, or if he just ends up DFA. If someone claims him, the Twins financially are only out about $550,000. It's also likely he goes unclaimed, and like Dobnak the past few years, he would be a guy you could bring up, waive, and would probably re-sign with St Paul again. 

But then again, they've still got Pereda as a rostered #3 catcher, Cardenas, and Winkel already at AAA. And if they promote Olivar to St Paul...while mostly a LF...that gives them yet another guy who can catch. So I don't know that the roster management for acquiring Jackson was all that smart, even for the cost conscious Twins, his contract isn't any hindrance. 

The dearth of catching jackson or Pereda become disaster pans. San Diego used to collect and trade catchers. I don’t know if it really netted them anything.

[Doctor Wu]

Picking up the extra catcher wasn't that odd a transaction on the surface, but the relatively high money spent on 2-year contract puzzled me, especially knowing that this over-30 player is not going to be your starting catcher. As others have said, keeping Jeffers around after this season, or signing him to a long-term contract doesn't make a lot of sense, so I think they SHOULD try and trade him before the season starts, but only if we get some MLB ready arms in return. Right now, the whole front office strategy is puzzling.