Playing Catch-Up: Joe Mauer's Successors Behind the Plate in Minnesota

Around this time 10 years ago, veteran Joe Mauer was preparing to report for spring training with a new twist: he was now a first baseman, no longer a catcher. Before a fateful concussion in 2013 forced his position switch, Mauer had been Minnesota's Opening Day catcher in nine of the 10 past years. (The lone exception: his MVP-winning 2009 season, where he got a late start due to injury.)

In 10 years since Mauer's catching career ended, the Twins have had five different Opening Day starters at the position, with more than a dozen others making appearances. There have been some flashes of success and entertaining moments (La Tortuga!), but none of these catchers have come close to matching the durability, stability, or value that Mauer provided throughout his decade-long run behind the plate. 

Reflecting on how difficult Mauer has been to replace helps contextualize just how special he really was. Let's take a tour through Minnesota's catching carousel. We'll start by running it back to 2014, the start of the post-Mauer era.

As a setup, here's a quick look at Mauer's fWAR, and the team's league-wide rank in catching fWAR, for each of his 10 seasons at catcher.

• 2004: 1.2 fWAR (Twins 20th in MLB)
• 2005: 3.4 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2006: 5.8 fWAR (Twins 1st in MLB)
• 2007: 3.3 fWAR (Twins 4th in MLB)
• 2008: 6.4 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2009: 8.4 fWAR (Twins 2nd in MLB)
• 2010: 5.7 fWAR (Twins 3rd in MLB)
• 2011: 2.1 fWAR (Twins 26th in MLB)
• 2012: 4.6 fWAR (Twins 16th in MLB)
• 2013: 5.2 fWAR (Twins 6th in MLB)

Six straight years under Mauer, the Twins were a top five team for value from the catcher position. As we'll see, it's a level they've rarely been able to approach without him, although their current setup shows promise.

2014 Season (Twins 28th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (115 catching starts, -0.1 fWAR)
Needing to address the catcher position for the first time since Mauer arrived in 2004, the Twins signed Suzuki to a one-year, $2.8-million contract and made him their primary catcher. Suzuki was well-liked and actually made the All-Star team by batting .309 in the first half, but his empty, inflated batting average overstated his offensive impact, and he rated out very poorly on defense. Immediately after getting a 5.2-fWAR season from Mauer in his final year as a catcher, the Twins got a sub-replacement level season from his replacement.

Other Catchers to Appear: Coming into 2014, there was some optimism around prospect Josmil Pinto as a potential long-term successor to Mauer, but that evaporated as the club get a better look at his limited defensive skills and athleticism. He made 26 starts and wasn't heard from again in Minnesota. Fringy veteran Eric Fryer also made 21 starts.

2015 (Twins 29th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (123 catching starts, -1.0 fWAR)
With Pinto falling out of the plans and no other compelling options emerging in the system, Terry Ryan made the dubious decision to double-down on Suzuki, who got a two-year extension midway through his first season with the Twins. In 2015, there was no magical first half and Suzuki was terrible all year long, ranking last among the league's catchers in fWAR. He still received more than three-quarters of the team's starts at the position.

Other Catchers to Appear: Chris Herrmann served as Suzuki's primary backup, making 32 starts at catcher, but would be traded to Arizona for Daniel Palka in the ensuing offseason. Fryer made seven starts in his final season with Minnesota.

2016 (Twins 28th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (92 catching starts, 0.0 fWAR)
This was, mercifully, the final year of Suzuki dragging Minnesota's catching unit down to the league's dregs. Yet another campaign in which he failed to elevate above replacement level. During the previous offseason, the Twins had tried to chart a new future course at catcher by dealing Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy. The move backfired horribly and was one of Ryan's final missteps, speeding the end of his tenure as GM. 

Other Catchers to Appear: Murphy made only 23 starts behind the plate, posting a miserable .403 OPS in his lone stint as a Twin. Minor-league journeyman Juan Centeno got a whopping 47 starts at catcher and posted a -0.9 fWAR. I must admit I completely forgot about his existence before researching this piece.

2017 (Twins 11th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (104 catching starts, 2.1 fWAR)
Improving the state of the catcher position was Priority No. 1 for Derek Falvey and the new Twins front office. The regime was barely settling in when they targeted and signed Jason Castro to a three-year deal in November 2016. Castro immediately stabilized the position as desired, putting up solid offense (93 OPS+) and quality defense to produce the highest WAR by a Twins catcher since Mauer's move.

Other Catchers to Appear: Chris Gimenez stepped in as Castro's primary backup, starting 54 games and making a career-high 225 plate appearances. Meanwhile, a prospect named Mitch Garver debuted, making several appearances and four starts at the end of a stellar Triple-A season to plant his flag.

2018 (Twins 17th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (19 catching starts, 0.0 fWAR)
The Twins opened the season with hopes of Castro leading a timeshare with Garver, but Castro would soon go down with an injury and miss most of the year. This opened the door for Garver to step up and prove his legitimacy; he led the team with 75 catching starts and slashed .268/.335/.414. Because his defense didn't grade out well, however, he was only worth 0.4 WAR in 103 games.

Other Catchers to Appear: Another veteran journeyman, Bobby Wilson (remember him?), took over as the token glove-first veteran while Castro was down. He made 45 starts, posting a hideous 45 OPS+ but providing solid defense. Meanwhile, a novelty act by the name of Willians Astudillo first showed up, capturing the attention of fans by batting .355 during a late-season MLB debut. Gimenez and Juan Graterol made final appearances as Twins. We can't forget that Mauer himself also appeared at catcher near the end of this season, receiving exactly one pitch in a tearful send-off.

2019 (Twins 3rd in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Jason Castro (72 catching starts, 1.7 fWAR)
For one glorious season, the Twins returned to being one of the elite teams in baseball at the catcher position. Castro helped by providing solid stability in the last year of his contract, but the standout success here was mostly driven by a breakout from Garver, who led the team in catching starts (73) and produced 3.9 fWAR thanks to a prodigious offensive explosion: .273/.365/.630, with 31 homers in 359 plate appearances. His .404 wOBA in 2019 was a mark that Mauer only bested once, in his MVP 2009 season.

Other Catchers to Appear: This was a generally healthy season for the catching corps. Garver and Castro combined to cover 145 of the team's starts behind the plate, with Astudillo taking the other 17.

2020 (Twins 14th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Mitch Garver (19 catching starts, -0.1 fWAR)
Garver was ready to take over as the Twins' No. 1 catcher. At least, that was the hope. The Twins signed free agent Alex Avila to form a platoon and hopefully carry forward the club's catching success from 2019. Unfortunately, both were struck by injuries and combined for replacement-level production, but Ryan Jeffers salvaged the unit with his excellent rookie campaign. Thus, a new hope had arrived on the scene.

Other Catchers to Appear: The trio of Garver, Avila and Jeffers split the catching load almost evenly during the abbreviated COVID season (19/19/18) with Astudillo making the other four. 

2021 (Twins 9th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Mitch Garver (53 catching starts, 2.2 fWAR)
Between Garver and Jeffers, the Twins were in good shape with two starting-caliber catchers heading into the 2021 season. The Opening Day starter, Garver, bounced back with a productive campaign (.256/.358/.517 in 68 games) but once again struggled to stay healthy. Jeffers ended up getting the bulk of starts behind the plate (77) but his performance regressed as he posted a .289 wOBA (down from .346 as a rookie) and 0.7 fWAR.

Other Catchers to Appear: Rounding out Minnesota's homegrown catching corps was Ben Rortvedt, who made 28 starts at catcher as a glove-only backup. La Tortuga made four more starts in his last hurrah as a Twin.

2022 (Twins 15th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Ryan Jeffers (56 catching starts, 0.9 fWAR)
Despite his regression in 2021, the Twins placed their full confidence in Jeffers as the club's future at catcher, trading both Garver and Rortvedt away in the offseason. Their faith was not rewarded; Jeffers got hurt and his bat failed to rebound when on the field. The absence of Jeffers for much of the summer left Gary Sánchez as the leading backstop (80 starts), and it wasn't pretty. Sánchez did (surprisingly) grade out okay defensively to produce a respectable 1.2 fWAR, keeping Minnesota's catching corps in the middle of the pack.

Other Catchers to Appear: This season was a reminder of how desperate teams can get when high-level catching depth erodes. Left to lean on Sánchez as their starter, the Twins acquired another no-hit veteran minor-leaguer in Sandy Léon and gave him 22 starts. A handful also went to Caleb Hamilton (3) and José Godoy (1). 

2023 (Twins 9th in MLB)

Opening Day Catcher: Christian Vázquez (91 catching starts, 1.0 fWAR)
By last winter, the Twins recognized that maybe Jeffers wasn't going to be the guy, coming off back-to-back seasons plagued by injuries and poor production. As such, they went uncharacteristically big in free agency, signing Vázquez to a three-year, $30-million deal. Still believers in Jeffers, they likely hoped that over time, the starter-backup dynamic would shift. It happened quickly, as Vázquez slumped offensively all year while Jeffers emerged as one of the league's best-hitting catchers. 

Other Catchers to Appear: Not one. With both Vázquez and Jeffers staying remarkably healthy all year, the Twins never needed to call on a third catcher in 2023. 

10 Years After Mauer: The Outlook Going Forward
Joe Mauer's career at catcher was defined by unparalleled stability behind the plate. The argument about his shortened prime gained no traction in the Hall of Fame discussion, because voters recognized: At this position, 10 years of consistently elite play is an eternity. Given the resource scarcity, finding a capable starting catcher is enough of a struggle--as the Twins have learned.

They've cycled through a lot of different backstops since Mauer, rarely capturing even glimpses of the impact he brought. (Garver in 2019 was the closest, but like so many at catcher, he just couldn't overcome the durability hurdles.) As we look ahead to 2024, though, there's reason to feel optimism about what lies ahead at the catcher position. 

Ryan Jeffers had a breakout season, and fully regained the team's confidence, as illustrated by his postseason usage. Vázquez didn't hit but was a steady, trusted defensive presence. I suspect the continuity and rapport of this duo played an underrated role in the team's pitching success. Their ninth-ranked fWAR at the position in 2023 probably understates what a relative strength the catcher position was for Minnesota. Thus, I'm not keen on breaking up the position to dump salary.

Jeffers is ready to take the reins, coming off a 134 OPS+ in his age-26 season. I'll take this opportunity to note that Mauer also posted a 134 OPS+ in his age-26 season, and followed up with an MVP campaign in his age-27 season (171 OPS+). That's not meant to overset expectations, but the point is that Jeffers is entering his true prime and has shown the rare ability to star on both sides. It's why I view him as one of the organization's most prized assets.

Meanwhile, Jeffers has a quality veteran partner alongside him in Vázquez, who would basically be a league-average starter in his own right. Both are under control for multiple years, leaving the Twins in the best shape they've been behind the plate since Mauer's Hall of Fame run reached an end.