What's Next for the Twins After Signing Victor Caratini?

[DannySD]

If 'what's next' is trading Jeffers, they don't want to compete. 

If 'what's next' is finding a vet closer and a backup SS who isn't a black hole on offense, then maybe they do. 

 

[dxpavelka]

Only 6 Twins had a higher WAR than Caratini in 2025.  One of them was traded at the deadline.  Lewis, Wallner, Larnach & Lee were NOT among the six.  I think he'll fit in just fine.  Lots of talk about Jeffers playing some first base.  Caratini has actually DONE that.

 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Given he won’t be back, he must be moved no later than the deadline.

Not if they’re winning. If they’re winning the division they hold him. Trading him for a reliever makes the 2026 team worse. There aren’t any relievers worth as much as Jeffers.

[DJL44]

46 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

And isn’t Wagaman getting some 1B love in ‘26?

Hopefully he spends the whole season in St Paul.

[Nashvilletwin]

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Not if they’re winning. If they’re winning the division they hold him. Trading him for a reliever makes the 2026 team worse. There aren’t any relievers worth as much as Jeffers.

Hope springs eternal……lol.

Anything is possible…..I guess.  But I’ll take the under on that.

And we will see what we get for him.  You can take both nothing and a near term (by ‘27) legitimate position player or starter prospect. I’ll take a dart throw or a decent young reliever with upside.  Gentleman’s wager between friends.  

[HerbieFan]

I'll take door #3 please...

[dxpavelka]

56 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Hope springs eternal……lol.

Anything is possible…..I guess.  But I’ll take the under on that.

And we will see what we get for him.  You can take both nothing and a near term (by ‘27) legitimate position player or starter prospect. I’ll take a dart throw or a decent young reliever with upside.  Gentleman’s wager between friends.  

lot of other ways to get a decent reliever with upside other than trading your starting catcher.

 

[IndianaTwin]

1. DFA Jackson at the most opportune time for getting him through waivers. He's an unlikely claim, because teams don't want to commit to paying him for a guaranteed payout. If he makes it through, he's unlikely to pursue free agency because that would require relinquishing his guaranteed $1.35M salary in pursuit of more. Assuming he gets through and doesn't opt out, assign him to St. Paul.

2. They've named interest in Jeffers being the "No. 1" catcher, but no catcher plays every day. Enter the season with a plan for a 2:1 split, targeting 108 starts for Jeffers and 54 starts for Caratini. In general, Jeffers plays games 1 and 3 of a series, with Caratini playing game 2. Adjust as needed for two- and four-game series. Add additional games at DH (both) and 1b (Caratini) as appropriate. 

3. Jackson is an excellent insurance clause for injury on the part of either. 

4. The time backup catchers move via trade or waiver claim is late in spring training when teams have a backup go down and are desperate for a body that can fill in. Depending on offers, consider a trade of Jackson at that point (if all three are healthy). At that point, it's conceivable to get more than Eeles for Jackson. 

5. Recognize that while Jeffers likely won't sign an extension (Boras client), at least try. And if not, recognize that in Caratini you have an MLB-level catcher under contract for 2027 with an additional year of development under the belt of Jackson, Pereda, Tait and others. 

6. Respond to any calls on Jeffers with, "Probably not, unless you've got multiple established relievers you are willing to trade for him. And assuming that you don't, do you have one you'll trade for Larnach?"

7. Call Danny Coulombe.

[karcherd]

2 hours ago, Chembry said:

How can you say teams don’t view Caratini as a catcher and the Twins will covert him? 79% of games played in MLB are at C.  In his 9-year career, he has started 496 games, 424 of them at C.  He was the Phillies back up option for Catcher.  He has also spent the vast majority of his playing time the last 3 years at catcher.  75% of his innings played since 2023 are at C.  He has positional flexibility, but more than likely the back up C. 2025 was the first year he ever started at DH.

The last three years he has played between 50 and 60 games at catcher.  They may consider him a backup but that would be it.  Yet at a minimum we are going to ask him to start at least another 40 games at catcher and maybe more if Jeffers is moved.  Yet all these teams with supposed with catching issues didn't sign him.  Doesn't seem like a great use of resources but then that is not Falvey's strength.

[DocBauer]

I guess I'm going to end up repeating myself here.

1] The Twins have had Garver, Castro, Jeffers, and Vazquez almost exclusively at catcher the past several years. Jackson set a floor for a relatively cheap deal, but now they have a better option to work in a 60/40 split with Jeffers. It also allows Jeffers to DH against LHP and have a guy at catcher that isn't a black hole in the lineup.

2] We simply don't know what the payroll ceiling actually is. With Larnach still on the roster as of now, we should be about $100M. Many have conjectured that's the payroll. But how do we know that? What if it's actually closer to $115M? 

That's STILL less than where they finished 2025, but still with room to add a couple veteran pen arms to assist in the rebuild and provide some leadership. Maybe there's even room to add another backup SS/utility option better than Kreidler, though I don't know there's actually anyone worthwhile left at this point.

But I don't think this signing is an automatic indicator that Jeffers is being moved. Or that no other signings aren't coming. 

I still don't see the fit for Larnach on this team, but let's say they spend $10-13M on Robertson or Dominguez, for example, and brought Rogers back home? Or maybe Coulombe instead of Rogers for a little less $? 

If the payroll actually is in the $115M range, and a couple decent veteran arms are brought in, the Caratini signing makes a lot of good sense. If not, then it becomes a questionable move.

We should know more over the next couple of weeks as January is counting down fast.

 

[Nashvilletwin]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

lot of other ways to get a decent reliever with upside other than trading your starting catcher.

 

Don’t disagree - lots of options.  But that doesn’t mean Jeffers for one year or less is going to return more.

If the market for Jeffers were a near-term legitimate position player or starter, we’d have hit the bid.  You are overestimating Jeffer’s value in the trade market.  Wish it weren’t so.

For example, one trade analyser suggests a fair swap of Abner Uribe (25 year old #4 relief pitcher for the Brewers) for Jeffers and Julien.  That’s the kind of deal we should expect for Jeffers.

[Cris E]

I don't think Julien has any value at all right now. It's been a while since he was effective, and he was well and truly lost last year even in St Paul.  Miranda was picked up because they could see a specific cause of his drop-off (concussion) and guess at a recovery timeline, but I'm not not certain Eddie would get as much interest.  If he hasn't figured things out by the end of March he could just be released.

(Edit: I forgot he found his way to first base more regularly last year, but he's been caught by the emerging youth and he still won't have a roster spot in April if he doesn't improve a lot.)

[The Great Hambino]

Has there been a corresponding roster move announced?  How long do they have to announce it?

[Chembry]

7 hours ago, karcherd said:

The last three years he has played between 50 and 60 games at catcher.  They may consider him a backup but that would be it.  Yet at a minimum we are going to ask him to start at least another 40 games at catcher and maybe more if Jeffers is moved.  Yet all these teams with supposed with catching issues didn't sign him.  Doesn't seem like a great use of resources but then that is not Falvey's strength.

Your questioning workload, not converting him to catcher.  It’s a valid concern, but why are you assuming Caratini is starting almost 100g, even with Jeffers on the roster?  The Twins have stated that Jeffers will take the lions share of the workload.  That will still be true even with Caratini on the roster.  Assuming no Jeffers trade, Caratini will more than likely start 50-60g, just as he has in the last 3 years.  Let’s wait to see what the corresponding move is or what the lineup looks like late in spring training before we start make assumptions.

When you say, no teams have signed him yet, I am guessing you are inferring that no team views him as a catcher.  That’s obviously not true.  MLBTR stated the Phillies were connected to Caratini and viewed him as a backup option to JT Realmuto.  

The logic that because a free agent is available later in the offseason means no team wants them is unfounded.  By that logic, nobody should want Bellinger since he is still available.  Caratini was probably waiting for Realmuto to sign before deciding his future.  That’s not uncommon. He was the second best catcher available on the free agent market, according to WAR. Bellinger was probably waiting for Tucker to sign to see if his options open up…

[Chembry]

2 hours ago, The Great Hambino said:

Has there been a corresponding roster move announced?  How long do they have to announce it?

No move has been announced yet.  As far as I am aware, there isn’t a specific timeframe between the agreement and corresponding roster moves.  I know this is unusual, but Pirates agreed with Ryan O’Hearn on 12/23/2025, but didn’t make the corresponding roster move until 1/13/2026.  In that case, it was over the Holidays and O’Hearn just had a baby.  The deal was pending a physical and it took a while to get his physical and make the deal official. 

[Doctor Wu]

On 1/19/2026 at 12:24 AM, Fatbat said:

Jhonny Pereda is still on the 40 man so I assume he will be catching in st paul.

I was wondering that Pereda's status was/is. He played well enough for the Twins after we picked him late in the season, but guess the front office doesn't see him as a legit backup catcher.

[IndianaTwin]

On 1/18/2026 at 8:46 PM, The Great Hambino said:

Has there been a corresponding roster move announced?  How long do they have to announce it?

I’m not sure that the Caratini move itself has been officially finalized. It may still be in the “pending physical” stage. He’s not yet showing up on MLB.com’s roster, for example. The signing and the DFA typically go hand in hand. 

[bloomwcjkl]

The Twins should have 9 catchers on the roster. Try something different. :-(

Catcher/Bullpen arm.

[Chembry]

Ryan Jeffers was the guest on today's inside Twins episode (1/20/2026).  He was asked about Caratini and what communication he has had with the Twins on that front.  

Jeffers response was that he had conversations with FO and staff that Caratini may happen.  He was reassured by the FO and staff that his role of catching 100+ games isn't going to change.  

Hearing that from Jeffers tells me that Jackson is the odd man out and really was there to set the floor.  At the time the Twins traded for Jackson, they were in this weird limbo.  They didn't know if they would have any spending capability and they brought in a solid defensive minded backup.     

[ashbury]

On 1/18/2026 at 11:25 AM, IndianaTwin said:

1. DFA Jackson at the most opportune time for getting him through waivers. He's an unlikely claim, because teams don't want to commit to paying him for a guaranteed payout. 

This thinking, expressed by others, seemed tinged with the experience we saw with Randy Dobnak and his guaranteed contract.  The difference, though, was that by the time the Twins decided  to remove him from the 40-man, his performance was consistently terrible, due to the chronic finger injury.  There were tons of other relievers on the waiver wire before and after the Twins passed him through it, and there was no reason for another team to claim him at even a small amount higher salary in preference to a minimum-wage alternative.  The catcher Jackson, by contrast, could have value to a team seeking a particular skill, namely defense even if he reverts to being a black hole at the plate.  A small salary like his wouldn't be a deterrent in such a case.  Yes, he might indeed clear waivers, but Dobnak isn't the model for anything.  As you say, timing will be  the key.  Working the trade market might be even more key.

[IndianaTwin]

18 minutes ago, ashbury said:

This thinking, expressed by others, seemed tinged with the experience we saw with Randy Dobnak and his guaranteed contract.  The difference, though, was that by the time the Twins decided  to remove him from the 40-man, his performance was consistently terrible, due to the chronic finger injury.  There were tons of other relievers on the waiver wire before and after the Twins passed him through it, and there was no reason for another team to claim him at even a small amount higher salary in preference to a minimum-wage alternative.  The catcher Jackson, by contrast, could have value to a team seeking a particular skill, namely defense even if he reverts to being a black hole at the plate.  A small salary like his wouldn't be a deterrent in such a case.  Yes, he might indeed clear waivers, but Dobnak isn't the model for anything.  As you say, timing will be  the key.  Working the trade market might be even more key.

Yeah, I probably overstated in saying he's an unlikely claim. I also shouldn't have listed it No. 1 -- that was just about setting the stage for saying that signing a third catcher isn't the obstacle it's been made out to be. I think the odds may be more in the 50/50 range on him getting through for the reasons you name.

And it would be very easy for an injury to one of them to turn it into a moot point. We've been so blessed with catcher health the past few years that it's easy to forget how common catcher injuries are. Part of the timing in either a DFA or trade is also not making a decision before it needs to be made, meaning, not jumping to the need for resolution in mid-January. 

[Riverbrian]

On 1/20/2026 at 2:02 PM, Chembry said:

Ryan Jeffers was the guest on today's inside Twins episode (1/20/2026).  He was asked about Caratini and what communication he has had with the Twins on that front.  

Jeffers response was that he had conversations with FO and staff that Caratini may happen.  He was reassured by the FO and staff that his role of catching 100+ games isn't going to change.  

Hearing that from Jeffers tells me that Jackson is the odd man out and really was there to set the floor.  At the time the Twins traded for Jackson, they were in this weird limbo.  They didn't know if they would have any spending capability and they brought in a solid defensive minded backup.     

Interesting.

If this is the conversation that the Twins had with Jeffers.

At face value.

It means Jeffers and Caratini are the tandem. We invested 7 million in a catcher to play 62 games or less wearing the tools of ignorance.

If they both remain healthy through spring training. Alex Jackson will be DFA'd and make 1.35 million playing for St. Paul after he goes unclaimed. Resulting in 15 million total invested in the catcher position.  

If payroll doesn't rise beyond 100 million this year. The Twins will be committing the largest percentage of their total budget than any of the 30 teams by a fairly large margin. 

Some of that direct investment into catching can be mitigated by having Caratini play 1B or DH on occasion therefore increasing his playing time. But 1st Base and DH already has 12.5 million invested into those positions between Bell, Larnach and Clemens. 

Some of that 1B and DH investment can be mitigated by having Larnach play OF but the Twins have Buxton, Wallner, Martin, Outman, Roden, Erod, GG and Walker Jenkins to play OF. 

Leaving out Clemens for the moment... In total... Jeffers, Caratini, Bell and Larnach will add up to approximately 24 million and account for 24 percent of the 100 million budget.

In addition: 50 million of the budget will account for Lopez, Ryan and Ober, Buxton and Lewis. This takes care of 3 starting pitcher slots, DH, C, 1B, 3B and CF.

This leaves 26 million to cover 17 positions on the 26 man roster. That's 2 SP arms for the rotation. 8 bullpen arms (the entire bullpen). Plus primary playing time spots at 2B, SS, LF, RF and three other roster spots that will be needed when injuries and rest are needed.

26 divided by 17 is 1.52 Million per on Average and this very close what we will be paying Jackson to play in St. Paul. 

I'm going to get my wish. I wanted the number of pre-arb players increased. It is going to be increased.   

[Chembry]

On 1/18/2026 at 7:46 PM, The Great Hambino said:

Has there been a corresponding roster move announced?  How long do they have to announce it?

Twins DFA’d Pierson Ohl, and Johnny Pereda today to make room for Caratini and Rogers.

[DJL44]

47 minutes ago, Chembry said:

Twins DFA’d Pierson Ohl, and Johnny Pereda today to make room for Caratini and Rogers.

I don't get this move. They must be really confident they are going to get Jackson through waivers. Julien and Outman are still on the roster.

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, Chembry said:

Twins DFA’d Pierson Ohl, and Johnny Pereda today to make room for Caratini and Rogers.

Ohl is very surprising to see DFA'd at this point, I wasn't super high on him but so much for him getting a chance to part of the Opening Day bullpen. I fully expect at least one more veteran reliever to be added to the 40 man. As for Pereda, they were probably going to go back to having 3 catches on the 40 man eventually. Both played well this past September but in very small sample sizes.

[The Great Hambino]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I don't get this move. They must be really confident they are going to get Jackson through waivers. Julien and Outman are still on the roster.

Also now getting Rogers doesn't fill an open spot in the bullpen, he just replaces Ohl.  Still needing a warm body to fill the pen and still only 19 pitchers on the 40.  Is Julien really that necessary? 

I don't get it either

[Chembry]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I don't get this move. They must be really confident they are going to get Jackson through waivers. Julien and Outman are still on the roster.

 

2 hours ago, Danchat said:

Ohl is very surprising to see DFA'd at this point, I wasn't super high on him but so much for him getting a chance to part of the Opening Day bullpen. I fully expect at least one more veteran reliever to be added to the 40 man. As for Pereda, they were probably going to go back to having 3 catches on the 40 man eventually. Both played well this past September but in very small sample sizes.

 

2 hours ago, The Great Hambino said:

Also now getting Rogers doesn't fill an open spot in the bullpen, he just replaces Ohl.  Still needing a warm body to fill the pen and still only 19 pitchers on the 40.  Is Julien really that necessary? 

I don't get it either

I don’t get the moves either. I’m not real high on Ohl, but he was ok when the Twins used him in single inning relief appearances.  I don’t think he was ever going to be a high leverage guy, but a decent depth piece if kept to single inning relief appearances.  I feel pretty confident that he will get claimed by another team.

I am a bit more puzzled about Pereda.  He still has an option remaining and he could be stashed at AAA as depth. I don’t think the Twins would have made this move if they intended on moving Jeffers.  If they do DFA Jackson, which I fully expect, there is no guarantee he gets through waivers. 

What is even more puzzling is holding on to Julien.  He is out of options and has no place to play.  Right now, it’s really a waste of a 40 man spot, unless they think they can trade him for something (unlikely in my opinion).  

While I agree Outman should be DFAd, I don’t think they will do that until they get another look in spring training. He will probably get a longer look while Buxton is playing in the WBC.  I will be paying close attention to how they use Outman while Buxton is away.  I am keeping my fingers crossed, but hoping Michael A Taylor can improve Martin and Roden’s defense in CF so we don’t have to suffer through Outman’s 40% k rate anymore.  

[thelanges5]

Just saw the terms of the Caratini contract and thought I’d share. 

Caratini will make $4M this season, and $6.5M for 2027. There is a $3.5M buyout on a $12M mutual option for 2028.