MN Twins Promote New Catcher With Veteran Injured

After the Minnesota Twins sent nearly half of the major league roster packing at the trade deadline, Christian Vazquez was the only impending free agent still standing. The team couldn’t find a taker for the veteran backstop, so they continue to be stuck paying the final dollars of his $10 million salary this season.

While Vazquez has been a non-factor offensively, he continues to hold down the role on defense and is well-liked in the clubhouse. Unfortunately for Rocco Baldelli, Vazquez is now hurt and will be gone for a minimum of ten days.

For the first time in three seasons, Minnesota has the opportunity to start someone not named Vazquez or Ryan Jeffers behind the dish. Enter Jhonny Pereda.

Jhonny Pereda promoted by Minnesota Twins

Prior to Friday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals the Minnesota Twins made a roster move involving their veteran catcher. Jhonny Pereda is up to take his spot, and that comes after having been claimed just recently from the Athletics.

It’s unknown as to when or how Vazquez suffered the injury. It seems like an odd malady to suffer. He did play on Tuesday in Detroit against the Tigers.

Bobby Nightengale’s note on the Twins consistency behind the plate is truly remarkable. While Jair Camargo did play five games for the MN Twins last season, he never made a start at catcher.

As mentioned, there’s not much to make up for Vazquez offensively. He owns a .174/.251/.247 batting line in 61 games this season. His 40 OPS+ is a career worst. Of the 294 players with at least 190 plate appearances this season, Vazquez’s .498 OPS is 293rd.

Related: National League Team Claims Former Twins Flameout

Unfortunately the expectations for Pereda shouldn’t be substantially higher. The 29-year-old has played in 37 major league games the past two seasons and owns a .203/.267/.228 slash line with an identical 40 OPS+. The sample size defensively is not substantial, but it’s likely that he’s a lesser defender than Vazquez as well.

Pereda has played 33 games at Triple-A this season and owns a .320/.408/.482 batting line. 27 of those games did come in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Last season with Triple-A Jacksonville in the Marlins system, Pereda hit .297/.405/.424. He doesn’t hit for much power, but has routinely controlled the strike zone.

Are the MN Twins out of catching options?

Minnesota’s catching depth is virtually non-existent in the upper-minors. Both Noah Cardenas or Patrick Winkel could be options if Vazquez needs to miss additional time and Pereda is a net-negative. Neither are on the 40-man roster however.

The Twins landed top 100 prospect Eduardo Tait in the Jhoan Duran trade with Philadelphia. Although he is an exciting catching prospect, he is just 18 years old and currently playing with High-A Cedar Rapids.

Related: Reasons to Watch MN Twins Games Now That 2025 Playoff Dreams are Dead

Minnesota has gone 3-3 since the trade deadline and took a series from division-leading Detroit. They are 54-60 on the season.