Why Minnesota Twins Might Not Extend Qualifying Offer to Ryan Jeffers

[NYCTK]

8 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I understand the wish for a draft choice. I'm afraid that there is a chance that Ryan Jeffers accepts the QO. I'm ready for the Twins pitchers to have a real catcher to throw to and I really don't care about the bat. This is my opinion and I recognize the opposite side, but I disagree as do Cleveland and many other teams.

FWIW, I don't believe that Milwaukee would use Ryan Jeffers as a catcher.

Well, weirdly, I think the Brewers catching lab would somehow turn him into an above average defensive catcher. But that's cause they've got one of the best organizations top to bottom. 

I simply think Jeffers defensive woes are wildly overstated on this site. We can disagree on that. I think he's solidly mediocre, you think he's outright bad. I can understand why you'd just rather him not be on the team that being the case. 

I simply see zero risk in Jeffers accepting the qualifying offer. Like the Brewers when Woodruff accepted their offer last year, the Twins have money, he clearly improves the team over the alternative, and just letting him walk does nothing but make the team worse. 

[NYCTK]

31 minutes ago, killercarewoliva said:

attitude is everything and yours is not good. it's abrasive. it's not becoming of this site to talk like that and it's very typical of the New York Yankees fans who are by far the worst in the league.

I'm a Mets fan. And therefore we agree that Yankees fans are the worst in the league. 

And there's no denying New Yorkers are abrasive. Proudly so. We deal with way more people than the average American on a daily basis, and we don't entertain nonsense. New Yorkers can be incredibly helpful and friendly if you know what you're doing. But rude and nasty if you're wasting our time. 

[USAFChief]

OP - "Besides, the rest of the league might like to play Jeffers more, but they're unlikely to be keen on giving up a draft pick to do it."

 

Nitpic: Teams don't "give up a draft pick" by signing FAs with a QO attached. They keep their own picks.

The team losing such a FA gets a extra pick inserted either after the 1st round, before the 3rd round, or before the 4th round.

 

Stupid rule, IYAM because EVERY team gets their regular picks pushed back, equally. 

 

But signing teams don't forfeit a pick.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-qualifying-offer-contract-predictions-2026-27-offseason/

[dxpavelka]

On 10/30/2026 at 9:14 AM, rdehring said:

Is Jackson still on the Saints roster and under Twins control in 2027?  If so, should they sign Jeffers to an extension or he stays via the QO, there is a real chance they trade Caratini.  Don't know what they could get or how much of his salary they would have to keep to get anything back.  But should they keep Jeffers and Caratini departs, their overall spending at catcher may not be all that much more than this past year.

I said at the deadline that they should trade Caratini rather than Jeffers and nearly got jeered off this site. 

[dxpavelka]

Making the offer to Jeffers is a no brainer.  The worst possible outcome is that he declines and we get a draft pick.  If he accepts we pay him.  Shouldn't be a big deal.  If it IS a big deal than we have problems.  Sorry but that's the truth.  If we consider Culpepper, Jenkins & Rodriguez to be big league players and no longer prospects, four of our top seven (maybe ten depending on which rating you use) prospects are catchers.  However, NONE of them will be ready to contribute at the big league level this year.  $23 Million for one of the best catchers around to be a bridge to the young fellas would be a wise investment.

[LastOnePicked]

16 hours ago, SE23 said:

Use the $$$ to build value. Starting with the value that was lost when Jeffers wasn't traded earlier.

But you can't spend free agent $$$ in a way that compensates for lost prospect value. Free agents by definition are market rate players. It's rare to get a bargain. But teams can often get a bargain from the first few years of an MLB-ready player.

If the idea is that the Twins can compensate for the prospects they lost out on by keeping Jeffers, they'll have to spend well beyond their previous record high payroll.

[LastOnePicked]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

the Twins have money, he clearly improves the team over the alternative, and just letting him walk does nothing but make the team worse. 

All of this is correct, but making the team worse is a Pohlad speciality. It's what happens when you don't understand what you own because you were given it instead of purchasing it yourself.