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Since the offseason began, two Minnesota Twins players have been linked incessantly to trade rumors: Chris Paddack and Christian Vázquez. Most franchises would perceive these veteran players as crucial depth pieces who raise the floor of a team, which is an all-too-important role to fulfill during a 162-game season. Alas, Minnesota's front office must work around strict ownership-imposed salary limitations, meaning the team almost has to part ways with one of Paddack or Vázquez to create the monetary space necessary to sign or trade for an impact player—if, indeed, it's not too late for that already.
At a glance, trading Paddack and his one-year, $7.5-million contract would be an easy pill for Twins decision-makers to swallow. The club's first four rotation spots are solidified, with Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Simeon Woods Richardson. As of now, Paddack is slated to inhabit the fifth rotation spot. That said, young, higher-upside arms like David Festa or Zebby Matthews could seamlessly take the 29-year-old right-handed hurler's place. Replacing Vázquez, however, would be a significantly more challenging and perilous endeavor.
Vázquez and his catching partner Ryan Jeffers have started every game at catcher for the Twins the past two seasons. In 2023, Vázquez started 56% of games behind the plate. His timeshare dipped to only 50% in 2024, but it's clear that the team values the savvy veteran's defensive prowess and ability to manage a pitching staff. Because trading him could free up as much as $10 million, though, it's an unavoidable consideration.
On the surface, Jeffers's presence on the 26-man roster makes the notion of trading Vázquez rational. The 27-year-old budding star is one of the best-hitting backstops in the AL and has improved defensively over the past two seasons. The team certainly could convert him into the primary starting catcher, giving him something closer to a traditional starter's workload. Yet, the situation isn't that simple. Yes, Jeffers has improved defensively and presumably could start more than 47% of games at catcher (which is what he started the past two seasons combined). Ratcheting up his share of playing time would also increase the risks associated with him, though. What if playing more exposes his weaknesses? What if he gets hurt?
Vázquez, Jeffers, Diego Cartaya, and Jair Camargo are the four catching options on the 40-man roster. Recently acquired Mickey Gasper has experience behind the plate, too, but the Twins don't view him as a viable catcher in anything more than an emergency situation. If the team were to trade Vázquez, one of Cartaya or Camargo would need to become the backup, or step all the way up into a rotational role.
Having one of Cartaya or Camargo take on the backup catching role behind Jeffers wouldn't necessarily be an unfavorable scenario. Both boast potential—particularly Cartaya, who was once a consensus top-20 prospect in the minors. Yet, there is significant question as to whether either of them have the aptitude to take on a 60-40 split over a 162-game season, let alone a 53-47 split like Vázquez and Jeffers divvied things the previous two seasons.
The Twins have been the beneficiaries of Vázquez and Jeffers not missing any time due to injury the past two seasons. Still, that rate of injury avoidance is not sustainable, especially if the playing time were less balanced. Say Jeffers were to sustain an injury that would cause him to miss an extended period of time. In that case, the team (as currently constructed) would need to rely entirely on Cartaya and Camargo.
Now, relying on this duo for a series or two wouldn't be a catastrophe. Yet, the consequences could be dire if the team's catching duties were given to these two inexperienced players for a month or more. As noted earlier, Vázquez possesses the innate ability to manage a pitching staff. He's a seasoned leader. The value this quality presents cannot be quantified. However, he has undoubtedly played a role in López, Ryan, and Ober's excellent performances in 2023 and 2024. Despite not possessing the same game-changing attributes as Vázquez, Jeffers also has similar experience with these pitchers.
If forced to be the team's catching duo, Cartaya and Camargo would likely struggle at the plate. The team would be able to (mostly) mask their lack of offensive production and place them in the eight- or nine-hole every game, as they have with Vázquez. Still, rostering two offensively deficient backstops would be a disadvantage that not even burying them in the lineup could comprehensively conceal. The real burden of relying on two young, inexperienced backstops would be their effect on the pitching staff.
Cartaya and Camargo have demonstrated adequate pitch framing, blocking, and base-stealing management skills in the high minors. That said, neither has ever had to guide an MLB pitching staff through a game or series, let alone a month-long stretch. If forced to take on this tremendous responsibility, there is reason to suspect they would struggle. With the Twins planning on contending for an AL Central title in 2025, they don't necessarily have the luxury of letting young players battle through extensive struggles at the major-league level.
Trading Vázquez and expecting Jeffers to perform at a rate consistent with his past production while maintaining a clean bill of health is a risky proposition, given the added pressure and heavier demands. If the Twins were to trade Vázquez, they would need to sign a veteran catcher to serve as Jeffers's backup. Intriguing options like James McCann and Yasmani Grandal are still on the market. However, they could sign at any moment. Minnesota may have no choice but to bring Vázquez back for the 2025 campaign, as being one Jeffers injury away from relying on two inexperienced catchers would be malpractice.
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