Ryan Jeffers’ Days With MN Twins May Be Numbered

This offseason is going to be interesting for the Minnesota Twins. They are expected to further dial back payroll and they could strip it down to the studs. Their first offseason transaction involved an underwhelming waiver claim, and that won’t be good if it’s a sign of things to come.

There is also fear that the front office may blow it up and trade starting pitchers Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan. Even if that doesn’t happen, they could be intrigued by resetting the roster and starting over at the catcher position. That means moving on from Ryan Jeffers.

Minnesota Twins could reset catcher position with Jeffers trade

Ryan Jeffers is among the longest-tenured Minnesota Twins having spent six seasons with the team. With one more year of team control, he is projected to get $6.6 million in arbitration. That may be too expensive for Minnesota and represent an opportunity to cash in. The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman sees that a possibility.

It’s also possible the Twins trade Jeffers, who will be a free agent after next season. In that scenario, they would be in desperate need of catching depth, but also far less motivated to spend money on it, which could lead them on a different path back to the 35-year-old, light-hitting Vázquez.

Aaron Gleeman – The Athletic

Effectively, Jeffers is the only catcher on the Twins 40-man roster. Christian Vazquez will be a free agent, and neither Mickey Gasper or Jhonny Pereda should be expected back. It’s also not a position of strength in the minors. Eduardo Tait is the only real potential long-term answer, and he’s a 19-year-old at High-A.

Jeffers played in 119 games this season, making it the second straight in which he surpassed the century mark. In 2023 Jeffers owned a career-best 133 OPS+ with a .490 slugging percentage. Then he dropped to a 103 OPS+ last season before the 109 OPS+ mark in 2025.

Ryan Jeffers has an .877 OPS against left handed pitching this season. pic.twitter.com/lUZkecD0LB

— Twins Ribbies (@TwinsRibbies) September 24, 2025

The problem for Minnesota is that Jeffers can’t be a building block piece as currently constructed. He’s not a guy you extend while barely hitting above league average. It’s not just that his power bat has disappeared, but that combined with poor defense behind the plate is a problem.

It would still be tough for Jeffers to be a guy that the Minnesota Twins simply move on from due to his modest salary. If they can find a quality offer though, then now may be a better time to move him rather than waiting until the trade deadline.

How could the MN Twins replace Ryan Jeffers?

Pereda and Gasper are not real major league catchers. They played out the string in that role for Minnesota, but no even casual big league team can run with that tandem. Taking Jeffers out of the mix means you need two new players assuming a catcher isn’t included in a swap.

As Gleeman noted, that could put Christian Vazquez back in the Twins plans. He was incredibly well-liked in the clubhouse, and is still an above-average defender. He was awful at $10 million, but you can stomach his 52 OPS+ at $4 million just because of the defense.

You would then need to sign another catcher, probably at the major league minimum, to round out the battery. That outlay would be just shy of $6 million total though, and at that point, did you benefit by moving on from Jeffers at all?

It’s difficult to think the Minnesota Twins could be better constructed without Jeffers, but he is another part of a once-assumed core that has flamed out. If the intention is to turn over that group, then the though process makes sense.