A Deal with Boston: Could Twins Ship Ryan Jeffers Out in a Catcher-for-Catcher Swap?

As we wait for the Twins to give us clues to how the roster will fit together with the addition of veteran catcher Victor Caratini, we can also still speculate about some moves that could work. The Boston Red Sox are still seeking help at the catcher position. The two teams already primed the pump for trades with a minor move on Wednesday morning. Let's see if we can make a bigger trade work, sending Ryan Jeffers to Boston to solve their catching needs. 

Before the reported signing of Caratini to a two-year deal, one of the big question marks moving forward for the Twins was who would fill the catcher position come 2027. The Twins have collected plenty of catching talent recently, but none of those players is likely to reach the big leagues anytime soon. With Caratini in place, there is a baseline for 2027. If the Red Sox trade for Jeffers, they have a player who could help with the Twins' needs in 2027 and beyond. 

Connor Wong is currently slated to be the Red Sox's backup catcher, but he doesn’t fit into their long-term plans. Wong is similar to both Caratini and Jeffers, in that he isn’t highly regarded for his defense. His value should lie in his bat. Alas, last season, he did not deliver in that way, hitting .190 with a .500 OPS—a ghastly 39 wRC+ in 63 games.

The Twins could be more patient with Wong, who still has an option year remaining and can be sent to the minors. While last year's offensive stats were not good, in 2024, he played in 126 games with a .280 batting average, 112 wRC+, and .758 OPS. while also hitting 13 home runs. The Twins could send Wong to St. Paul and hope the club can help him rediscover that 2024 offensive form, while letting Caratini and Alex Jackson set up behind the plate in Minneapolis. 

In this part of the trade, the Twins trade away Jeffers’s $6.7 million and replace it with Wong’s $1.375 million, which he'll earn in his first year of arbitration eligibility. That would save the Twins roughly $5.3 million, which could be used to further reinforce the bullpen. 

Speaking of the bullpen, considering how much more valuable Jeffers is than Wong, the Twins could turn to see if they could identify a reliever for the 2026 bullpen who is on the Red Sox roster. Boston's relief corps is not as deep as their starting rotation, but they could part with a middle-relief arm and use their starter candidates to patch the pen. Late-blooming Zack Kelly, 30, has four more years of team control and can still be optioned to the minors. His results last season were unimpressive, but he has plus stuff.

For Twins fans, this return package likely feels underwhelming for a player who has been a key to any positive vibes recently for the club. It does fit with what some previous catcher trades have produced, though. Detroit traded for a half-season of catcher Carson Kelly in 2024, sending two minor leaguers, catcher Liam Hicks and pitcher Tyler Owens. Hicks has seen success with Miami after they selected him in the Rule 5 draft, while Owens debuted last season but pitched well in very limited chances. 

This past trade deadline, Danny Jansen netted the Rays a prospect in Jadher Areinamo. Before being traded, Areinamo was often ranked in the low 20s in Brewers prospect rankings, and has been successful in the Venezuelan league this winter.  

Both Jansen and Kelly had less control than Jeffers currently does, and Jeffers is better than either of them were, but it at least gives us a tentative range for Jeffers's value. He has upside, and the Red Sox could get a leg up on other teams in any effort to keep him around long-term by bringing him in now. That would certainly be reflected in a package of Wong and Kelly, who both have a major-league track record to look at and would be under team control for three and four more seasons, respectively.

Is this a deal worth making to clean up what appears to be a confusing roster? Should the Twins just figure out how to make it work with both Jeffers and Caratini on the roster? Let's clump around the hot stove on a cold night and talk trade.