The Twins' Catching Rotation is Costing Them

When Derek Falvey dealt Mitch Garver to the Texas Rangers, it signified a changing of the guard at the catching position. While Ryan Jeffers is certainly no Joe Mauer, it was the former second-round pick’s time to shine in a regular role. He had flashed promise in a small sample as a rookie, and despite lackluster 2021 and 2022 seasons, it appeared there was more to develop.

That belief has come to fruition over the past two seasons. Rocco Baldelli has seen Jeffers produce a 136 OPS+ at a position not known for premium offensive numbers. He has done it while owning strong on-base numbers and showing an ability to slug at a respectable rate. After he played in 96 games last season, there was never a reason to think Jeffers would come in and trend toward 162 this year, but Minnesota is following the same blueprint they outlined in 2023.

Signed to a three-year $30 million contract last offseason, Christian Vázquez was supposed to come in and be a stabilizing veteran presence who contributed both defensively and at the dish. He has been fine from a catching perspective, and he has flashed a strong arm multiple times this season when throwing out would-be base stealers. The problem is that his bat has been every bit as non-existent as it was a year ago.

Vázquez worked hard this offseason to increase bat speed and come in with a heightened ability to produce in the lineup, but it has all gone wrong for the veteran backstop. After owning a poor 65 OPS+ last season, it’s hit new lows this year, with a 42 OPS+ even after a three-hit game Wednesday night. Vázquez has just one extra-base hit in 48 plate appearances, and his 12/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio has ensured that his OBP stays as miserable as his slugging average.

It's damnation with faint praise that Vázquez owns a 28.1% hard-hit rate, which is the highest mark he has produced since 2020. His 91.5-mph average exit velocity is also a career high. Chasing at 37% of pitches outside the zone, though, is a career worst. His decision-making at the plate has fallen off the rails.

Baldelli has played Vázquez 14 times, compared to Jeffers’s 20 appearances, but they are dead even behind the plate. Until Wednesday, the team had alternated them perfectly all year, and when they broke that pattern, it was to give Vázquez a second straight start behind the plate Wednesday night. Jeffers has been routinely used as the designated hitter because of his bat, but continuing to play Vázquez so regularly puts the lineup in a position to fail. At this point, he has become something of a guaranteed out, and while his defense is an asset behind the plate, an already poor lineup can’t overcome his insertion.

Minnesota doesn’t have a plethora of strong bench options at this point. With no Carlos Correa or Royce Lewis in the mix, guys like Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro are already playing far too often. That being said, there is still always a bat available that represents a better fit than Vázquez does. Moving to something of a two-to-one or three-to-one schedule for Jeffers behind the plate seems like a straightforward answer.

Playing the catching tandem is likely rooted in an idea that Minnesota can keep both Jeffers and Vázquez fresh and healthy if neither is overextended. That is a worthwhile plan of attack, but it doesn’t have to be as rigid as we have seen over the past year. Keeping tabs on Jeffers’s health and production would allow the coaching staff to see how he handles the increased workload, and getting him into something like a total of 130 or more games this season needs to be the goal.

The Twins aren’t moving the boat anchor of a contract that Vázquez owns, but taking down their ship with his dreadful bat isn’t a sensible plan, either.