Hunter McCall

No, that's why I explicitly talked about how important he is as a low-leverage reliever. In the post-season, your best relievers are always available. That's not the way it works in a 162 game season. He's done a very good job filling his role this year.

If you read the article, I mentioned that he has been either really good or really bad. This little blip is in regards to the fact that if you were to factor out his three putrid performances he's been really good. I made it clear that I'm not explaining away the bad. Thanks for your input, but I can't help but feel you may have "cherry picked" my article for content to criticize.

What about a bullpen day when he's asked to throw two innings and doesn't give up a hit, run, or walk in a 2-0 shut out win? Is that a human white flag?

Twins down in a close game against the Tigers this week, Pagan comes in due to a taxed bullpen, shoves for 2 innings....... no respect. Gives up a home run against the Braves, Twins Twitter explodes. See where I'm coming from? I get that he hasn't been good in high leverage situations, but why can't we accept that he has embraced his role and done it well?

Emilio Pagan often receives hate from fans for his notorious meltdowns. Still, his role in the bullpen has been valuable, and the Twins will need him to continue to deliver going forward. Image courtesy of David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports When Emilio Pagan came to the Twins along with Chris Paddack before the 2022 season, he was immediately thrust into the team's closer spot to replace Taylor Rogers, who was sent to San Diego in the same trade. Replacing the beloved Rogers was a tall task that proved too big for Pagan almost immediately. Implosion after implosion led to his eventual removal from the closer role, and Pagan ended up in a lower-leverage bullpen role. He put together a solid second half of the 2022 season. However, the damage to his reputation in the minds of Twins fans had been done, and the damage still echoes today any time Rocco Baldelli signals for the righty to enter out of the bullpen. Calls to designated Pagan for assignment fill the Twitter feed every time he gives up a run, and it's almost guaranteed the grumpy old guy sitting next to you watching the game will holler, "OH GREAT, THIS ONE'S OVER!" every time Pagan gets the call. But is the criticism warranted, or is it residue from the disastrous first few months with the team? One could describe Pagan's 2023 season as Boom or Bust. However, the boom has appeared far more often than the bust. When the bust comes, it's brutal, but he has been a very good reliever for (almost) the whole year. Currently, Pagan's ERA sits at 3.82, and his FIP is at a very good 3.39. For reference, Jhoan Duran's FIP sits at 3.27. So, with Pagan's numbers being so good, why is the criticism still so high? Well, that's where the bust comes into play. There have been 3 (out of 28) awful appearances that have stuck in the craw of Twins fans. Against Boston in April, he gave up six runs after Kenta Maeda was hit in the shin by a line drive and forced to leave early. In May, he fell apart against the Dodgers, earning a blown save by giving up three runs while only getting one out. And most recently, in June against the Blue Jays, Pagan blew another save en route to giving up three runs on a Cavan Biggio home run that capped off a five-run Blue Jay comeback resulting in a loss for the Twins. If you add those numbers up, that's 12 runs in 3 appearances. Pagan has only given up 14 runs on the season. That means he has given up two earned runs in his other 25 appearances. As I said, when he is off, he's as bad as anyone, but when on, he's been one of the better mid-relievers in baseball. Emilio Pagan has been so important for the Twins this year as he's shown an ability to come into low-leverage situations or games in which guys like Duran, Brock Stewert, and Griffin Jax are unavailable and, more often than not, get the job done. Yes, he can be a nightmare occasionally, but he has done an overall good job in his role and is worth keeping around. View full article

Rear-view would assume that it's passed, but it's still a month in the future.

I put more stock into it than most. i think a catcher's ability to call a game is wildly underestimated. Vazquez does a great job back there on top of his pitch framing which is also very good. He helps his pitchers in more ways than one.

As I stated, Jeffers is not a bad defensive catcher. He does a fairly nice job. Vazquez's appeal comes from his ability to call a game and help out the starting pitcher. He brings a championship approach and has a plethora of experience calling big games. He's made a couple errors so far this year that makes him look a little questionable, but where Vazquez earns his money is in a category that has no stats. Both guys are good player!

You're absolutely right. Good point! Jeffers is feasting off lefties at the moment as he has most of his career!

Couldn't agree more!

I think when we look at the pitching staff's strong start, we should give a lot of credit to Vazquez for the work he does calling games. They could potentially shift the starts a hair in order to give Jeffers more at-bats, but as I noted I think Vazquez should remain in the lineup often. I appreciate the perspective!

Absolutely. I believe whole-heartedly that the pitching staff is as good as they are because of Vazquez's prowess behind the plate. He's a polished defensive catcher who brings an invaluable ability to the team. Jeffers is fine defensively, but he's not Vazquez.

You say you disagree but then came to the same conclusion that I did. I agree that Vazquez should remain the primary catcher. His defense is irreplaceable and his bat will improve. Early slash lines are misleading, I agree, but the .500 OPS a month into the season is not great regardless of how early it is. As I said though, I think he should still start 65-70% of games.

You're right, the offense has been abysmal. I think it's due to improve, hopefully soon. If he is still hitting this poorly by mid-June, I think that is where they shift the playing time a bit more heavily toward Jeffers. Jeffers is currently seeing primarily lefties, so he has gotten the benefit of those matchups compared to Vazquez's righty vs. righty matchups.

You're right, this will likely be something that is worked out as the year progresses. It's likely to change month to month. It would also be interesting to see if Jeffers sees any at-bats as a DH later in the season if Buxton ever moves to the outfield. It's an abnormal thing to play both your catchers in the starting lineup, but as we saw with Sanchez and Jeffers last year, they aren't afraid to do it. I doubt it will happen, but something I've thought about as a possibility during a stretch run.

Absolutely right. Jeffers thrives against lefties. The stats become a little skewed by that fact. Good point.

There's certainly a case to be made, absolutely! I'm just of the opinion that Vazquez should continue to see the lion's share of starts because of his ability to call games. His bat is due for some positive regression here soon.

I think he could see more at-bats, but I think Vazquez should remain the primary catcher. He's just so polished behind the plate I think the pitching staff would see regression if he started to lose starts.

I agree! Vazquez will hit better than he is now. It's hard to hit much worse. Keep wheeling him out there and take his high level defense. His bat should end up right around league average.

Jeffers could stand to get more at-bats, but as I stated, the defense Vazquez supplies is irreplaceable. I think his bat will be better than it is now.

I've always been a fan of Jeffers' bat and he's a fine fielder. He just isn't near as polished as Vazquez behind the plate. Good point!

Absolutely! Most pitchers have a say in who catches their games!

With Christian Vazquez struggling at the plate and making questionable plays in the field, should the Twins consider adjusting who they start at catcher on a daily basis? Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports On December 16, the Minnesota Twins signed Christian Vazquez to a three-year $30 million deal to have him take over as the team's primary catcher. The two-time World Series champion Vazquez got off to a hot start at the plate and behind the dish. Since then, however, he has cooled off and made some questionable plays defensively. Is it time to adjust the catching timeshare and give Ryan Jeffers more playing time? So far this season, Vazquez has appeared in 27 games to Jeffers' 20. A few of Jeffers' appearances came by way of pinch-hitting, which is why Vazquez has 85 at-bats to Jeffers's 48 at-bats. Over those at-bats, Vazquez boasts a putrid .531 OPS and 0.0 WAR compared to Jeffers's .872 OPS and 0.3 WAR. The stats suggest that Jeffers has been far more effective for the Twins than Vazquez at the plate. However, that is not the most essential aspect to consider. Vazquez wasn't brought in for $10 million per season for his bat. He has a career .690 OPS, which is below league average. Instead, the 32-year-old catcher has always made his money defensively. Vasquez has been the primary catcher on two World Series teams. He has gathered a plethora of experience and caught some of the highest-quality pitchers on the planet in the most important games. Vazquez remains an asset defensively, as he currently ranks in the 76th percentile in pitch framing, but even that isn't Vazquez's most important skill he brings to the table. The Minnesota Twins' pitching staff has been excellent in 2023. The starters have kept them in games, and the bullpen has finished them off when needed. The staff has generated a ton of swings and misses and soft contact. It isn't a coincidence that this revelation came at the same time the Twins signed Christian Vazquez. Vazquez calls a great game behind the plate. His ability and feel for the game and approach with each batter are second to none. Ryan Jeffers is a fine defensive catcher, but there are few in the league that call a better and more consistent game than Vazquez. While Vazquez has been frustrating at the plate and has made some somewhat questionable defensive plays over recent weeks, it's important to remember why he's here. He brings a championship pedigree to the team and understands what pitches to throw to any given hitter in any given situation. His value goes far beyond the value calculated by the stats and analytics. For this reason, the Twins would be wise to continue giving Vazquez the majority of starts behind the plate and pencil him in the lineup around 65-70% of games. What are your thoughts? Is it worth sacrificing offense for Vazquez's ability behind the plate? Let me know in the comments! Go, Twins! View full article