Victor Caratini Isn't a Good Fit for the 2026 Minnesota Twins

Didn't like or even understand the signing at the time. He seems pretty good with the ABS challenges but outside of that, not really seeing anything of value. 

Caratini is another bat-first “value” signing. He will be the starting catcher when Jeffers is traded at the deadline.

Crazy how much they spent on Caratini and Bell and they still don’t have a first baseman.

I get it.  We all know better than the Twins how to build a roster.  However, it's a long season and it is entirely possible that 6 games is NOT an indication of how anything will play out over the course of the season.  I will always remember 2023.  As mid May gave way to late May I remember thinking "why the hell is  this guy taking up a roster spot" about a guy named Solano who had FIVE RBI to that point.  Without Solano's performance from that point forward that team not only doesn't win a playoff series, they don't even make the playoffs.  Rash judgements after a handful of games are laughable.

He should be the catcher against right-handed pitchers and Jeffers against left-handed pitchers(and when Caratini needs a break.)  That would mean many more starts for Caratini over Jeffers.  That would put them both in the best position to thrive.  If you are worried about at bats for Jeffers, would you DH him against right-handed pitchers.......probably not.

He’s signed for next season as well. Jeffers will be gone either at the deadline or as a FA. This lineup is a mess and he’s not the biggest problem in my opinion. 
See Larnach, Outman, Gray

Caratini is pretty low on the list of our roster problems.  Larnach is the biggest problem followed by Lee in the role of starting SS.   Even Outman is not a big problem in the CF / Defensive replacement role similar to what Kiersey provided.    

Took a whole 6 games to determine that our back-up catcher is a bad fit?

It never ceases to amaze me how much this site jumps the gun.

Am I in the twilight zone . . .  

For the last 2 years we have had articles upon articles complaining about our lack of catching depth.   We traded a former frontier league free agent for the basement level backup in Alex Jackson.  Who had some flashes last year . . .  but who got through waivers with no one claiming him and his $1.5 million salary.  This was the best case out come for the Twins I was thrilled we were able to get him to AAA.  Even still as of right now no one saw him as a legitimate backup - even worthy of a dfa pickup.  

Jeffers has a better than 50/50 shot of being traded midseason.   Caratini was signed to be the backup for now and the bridge starter until our younger C prospects in AA and lower can make it to the big show.   For $7 million a year,  we got the 3rd best catcher this year.   He has looked solid behind the plate,  has a great rapport with Bradley (which is worth its weight in gold)   and the bat and his approach at the plate looks great.  Baserunning needs some improvement along with the rest of the team. 

Its not Caratini's issue this roster is wonky and we are waiting for some chips to fall.   Jeffers to get traded, See if Clemens continues to solidify himself as a big leaguer or if he falls out of favor and Wagaman becomes the primary 1st baseman.  Getting rid of Larnach and adding a better offensive option in Rodriguez, Roden or Jenkins,    and waiting for Culpepper to take the SS reigns will suddenly cause this roster and lineup to make much more sense.  

In either case rather than just having Jeffers on a 1 year contract that we would have been forced to keep him all year due to no back up - We now have Caratini to fill in that hole,  we can actually get some trade compensation and if either Caratini or Jeffers gets hurt we actually have depth in Jackson in the minors.  Seems to be a great outcome all things considered, and nothing to fret about after 6 games.  

2 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

Am I in the twilight zone . . .  

For the last 2 years we have had articles upon articles complaining about our lack of catching depth.   We traded a former frontier league free agent for the basement level backup in Alex Jackson.  Who had some flashes last year . . .  but who got through waivers with no one claiming him and his $1.5 million salary.  This was the best case out come for the Twins I was thrilled we were able to get him to AAA.  Even still as of right now no one saw him as a legitimate backup - even worth a dfa pickup.  

Jeffers has a better than 50/50 shot of being traded midseason.   Caratini was signed to be the backup for now and the bridge starter until our younger C prospects in AA and lower can make it to the big show.   For $7 million a year,  we got the 3rd best catcher this year.   He has looked solid behind the plate,  has a great rapport with Bradley (which is worth its weight in gold)   and the bat and his approach at the plate looks great.  Baserunning needs some improvement along with the rest of the team. 

Its not Caratini's issue this roster is wonky and we are waiting for some chips to fall.   Jeffers to get traded, See if Clemens continues to solidify himself as a big leaguer or if he falls up and Wagaman becomes the primary 1st baseman.  Getting rid of Larnach and waiting for Culpepper to take the SS reigns will suddenly cause this roster and lineup to make much more sense.  

In either case rather than just having Jeffers on a 1 year contract that we would have been forced to keep him all year due to no back up - We now have Caratini to fill in that hole,  we can actually get some trade compensation and if either Caratini or Jeffers gets hurt we actually have depth in Jackson in the minors.   

Yup. I forgot the narrative here is to always find the negative in a positive.

42 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Caratini is pretty low on the list of our roster problems.  Larnach is the biggest problem followed by Lee in the role of starting SS.   Even Outman is not a big problem in the CF / Defensive replacement role similar to what Kiersey provided.    

The roster feels much more like a collection of undervalued “assets” than a baseball team. Why does a team with a $100M payroll need a $5M backup DH? 

I'm still onboard with the Caratini signing. Right now, he is a more than capable backup C, and an acceptable option to scoop up some spare ABs at 1B. If there was no Caratini, that probably means either Bell gets more time in the field at 1B (not a fan of that), or there is one less bench spot because the Twins are carrying both Alex Jackson and Eric Wagaman (or someone else). So Caratini is valuable as a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none switch-hitting piece.

I also think there's a pretty good probability that Caratini is the primary catcher next year assuming Jeffers is traded or leaves in FA. I wouldn't be thrilled by that but it's a better plan than rolling with Alex Jackson or an unproven minor league catcher. Alex Jackson had an outlier hitting year last year but has a career 40%  major league K rate - even as a good defender, this is not a guy you want as your primary catcher. Caratini has been a far better major league player overall and it's not close.

Caratini should be an emergency first baseman and the back-up catcher. He doesn't hit enough to be the DH, not a good first baseman, and is slower than molasses.

47 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Took a whole 6 games to determine that our back-up catcher is a bad fit?

It never ceases to amaze me how much this site jumps the gun.

And since when was Jackson a legit backup? He hasn't ever hit in the majors and no other team wanted him. Jeffers is in his walk year too. 

36 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

39 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

 

I think stringer bell summed it up perfectly.

Jeffers will not hold up and be productive at this pace.  Even if he is healthy or productive he will get traded at deadline so caratini signing is for coverage and 2027.

 Our entire current roster doesn’t fit 2026.

17 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

"Push the 'submit reply' button once."

I did.  Your first quote was nothing, and I agreed. It's a non-story

With one injury to the roster we should see Wagaman promoted and he will get the reps at 1B instead of Caratini. That will give us a different player to complain about.

I've used this line many times since it was used on me decades ago, and now in response to Caratini not being a fit on the Twins roster:

"How could it possibly matter?"

I never understood the signing either.  You add in Bell as a 1st base, you have plenty of options at DH, so you spend big on a catcher/1st base guy that is not an above average hitter.  He actually is career below average hitter, close to average.  You had a backup catcher already and had options at first. The signing made no sense.