Twins' catcher duo: Set in stone or in flux for '25?
Matthew Leach
@matthewhleachThis story was excerpted from Matthew Leach¡¯s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The Twins came one inning short of using only two catchers for every single inning of the 2024 season. Jair Camargo made two appearances and tallied a single inning behind the dish, while Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez had an almost perfectly even playing time split at catcher. Each made 81 starts, each caught in 86 games and Jeffers caught 1 1/3 more innings than V¨¢zquez.
Jeffers put up better offensive numbers, V¨¢zquez had better defensive numbers and overall it was a solid and effective, if maybe unspectacular, tandem. Minnesota catchers ranked right in the middle of the AL, eighth out of 15 teams, with a combined 2.3 WAR per FanGraphs.
As of now, it appears that same combination ¨C Jeffers and V¨¢zquez, with Camargo at the ready if needed ¨C will return for 2025. But there is some potential for movement, even before you acknowledge the fact that catcher is a rough position and sometimes catchers get hurt.
On the 40-man roster: Jair Camargo, Diego Cartaya, Ryan Jeffers, Christian V¨¢zquez
New arrivals: Cartaya, Mickey Gasper (acquired in trade from Red Sox, not on 40-man)
Departures: None
The big question: Is this unit as set as it appears?
Well¡ maybe? There¡¯s definitely a path where everything turns out just as black and white as it seems. Jeffers and V¨¢zquez split time again, Camargo and Cartaya are available if anybody gets hurt and the Twins have another solid, but perhaps unspectacular, catching situation.
However, there are a couple of ways that might take a turn.
The most obvious, if not necessarily likely, has been rumored for quite a while: a trade. The Twins are likely nearing their expected payroll threshold for 2025, and they do still have a few needs, most notably at first base. V¨¢zquez is 34 and slated to make $10 million this year, meaning there¡¯s a potential motivation for the club to look to move him if it wanted to add payroll somewhere else.
With that said, V¨¢zquez is 34 and slated to make $10 million next year, which might make him hard to move. This is not a guaranteed or even a likely move. But it has to be acknowledged as a possibility.
The other way this could get interesting is if the organization can unlock something in Cartaya. As recently as two years ago, he was a top-15 prospect in baseball, known as much for his bat as his glove. If he can find his offense again and rediscover that prospect sheen, it¡¯s not inconceivable that he could push his way into the picture.