Now, the organization is headed towards a payroll shy of $100 million for the first time since 2014 and they’re looking for all the bargain bin deals they can find, both from inside and outside the organization. In other words, the expectation for “open” roster spots in 2026 is little more than a warm body.

Of course, Ryan Jeffers clears that by quite a bit, especially off an impressive 2025. Kody Clemens, on the other hand, does not. Either way, it appears both are ticketed for serious playing time this season, under new manager Derek Shelton.

Ryan Jeffers to get more time behind Minnesota Twins dish

When the MN Twins season ended back in September, Christian Vazquez saw his three-year, $30 million deal come to an end. To fill his backup role to Jeffers, president Derek Falvey traded for veteran catcher, Alex Jackson.

Jeffers started 80, 81 and 73 games behind the plate the past three seasons, splitting time evenly with Vázquez. Presumably, the 2026 plan is for Jeffers to start 100-plus games, with Jackson — projected to make $1.8 million via arbitration — taking the remaining 50 or so. Jeffers could also be a trade candidate ahead of his walk year.

Aaron Gleeman – The Athletic

During the recent general managers’ meetings, Twins president Derek Falvey made it clear Jeffers would handle the bulk of the catching duties: “We’ll intend for him to take down a lot of the games,” a message the veteran said is music to his ears.

Dan Hayes – The Athletic

Asking Ryan Jeffers to play 100-plus games behind the dish is a big jump from what he is used to. He has played in 119 and 122 games the past two seasons respectively, but only 80 and 81 of those games came as the starting catcher.

Minnesota remained relatively steadfast that splitting time, despite Vazquez owning just a 57 OPS+, was the most straightforward way to keep Jeffers’ production up.

He batted .266/.356/.397 last season, and the .490 slugging percentage from 2023 was nowhere to be seen. It remains questionable if a larger workload won’t simply sap his output even further.

Cody Clemens is (probably) your 2026 MN Twins first baseman

Unfortunately, the answers at first base aren’t as obvious, after the Twins traded Gold Glove winning first baseman Ty France and lack funds to find a suitable replacement.

Cody Clemens was a waiver claim after being dumped by the Philadelphia Phillies. His 91 OPS+ in 112 games was a career high. However, he had just a .482 OPS lefties with a .782 OPS against righties wasn’t exactly earth-shattering either.

Dan Hayes and Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic believe Shelton already has his first baseman on the 40-man roster, in Clemens, even after his lackluster performance at the plate in 2025, when given regular playing time.

My assumption coming into the offseason was that adding a good veteran bat at first base would be a priority, but instead, Falvey has indicated the job might be Clemens’ to lose…If the Twins aren’t even going to be in the market for a mid-tier free-agent first baseman — along the lines of, say, Carlos Santana two years ago — then that’s a pretty strong indication they’re not serious about investing in the roster. 

Aaron Gleeman – The Athletic

It’s a relative assumption that the MN Twins aren’t interested in putting their best foot forward this season. Using Clemens as an every day first baseman would be completely indicative of that. Also, Edouard Julien is a lefty as well, negating any platoon option there.

Bullpen could see young faces round out roles

There is next to nothing left for the Minnesota Twins bullpen after the trade deadline. It’s the most important and necessary place for Derek Falvey to rebuild this offseason.

Thankfully for him, it’s also a relatively cheap area to make additions. That doesn’t stop either Hayes or Gleeman from opining that young arms may fill key roles.

Prielipp and Raya were identified by Falvey as bullpen options earlier this month, and you can see the upside, but both will face big learning curves.

Dan Hayes – The Athletic

It makes sense for both Prielipp and Raya to be involved in the Twins bullpen this season. The former has struggled to stay healthy, but turned in 82 2/3 innings this season and had 98 strikeouts.

Raya flopped in a massive way this season and his starting prospects could be all but gone. Despite being at Triple-A, he owned a 6.02 ERA and had 57 walks to his 102 strikeouts.

Both players realistically look like upside plays in the bullpen. If things settle in right, they could eventually move their way back into starting plans.

What all of these situations add up to though, is a franchise looking to cut the closest corners for the cheapest figure imaginable.

They sorted out Justin Topa’s contract situation, avoiding arbitration with the 34-year-old righty reliever by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2 million. They also traded for a new backup catcher, in 29-year-old veteran Alex Jackson.

No non-tenders for Minnesota Twins, including Trevor Larnach

The acquisition of Jackson made for seven Twins players who needed to be tendered or signed, before Friday’s arbitration deadline.

After some rumblings that Trevor Larnach could be on his way out, Minnesota opted to tender the corner outfielder, along with the other five arb-eligible Twins remaining after Topa signed his deal Thursday.

Aside from Trevor Larnach, the #MNTwins offered a contract to everyone else — Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Cole Sands, Alex Jackson, Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis –after DFA'ing DaShawn Keirsey Jr. earlier in the day.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) November 21, 2025

Trevor Larnach: Tendered. #MNTwins

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 21, 2025

MLB Trade Rumors projects Trevor Larnach’s 2026 salary at $4.7 million. He made $2.5 million in 2025. It’s not that the salary increase is substantial, but for a team that looks destined to have a bottom-of-the-barrel payroll , it still seems unlikely he’ll be in Fort Myers for Spring Training.

Larnach is a left-handed outfielder on a team with a boatload of left-handed outfielders. Across 442 big league games he has a .241/.323/.403 split with a 101 OPS+.

Back-to-back days with a home run for Trevor! pic.twitter.com/qdqbiIApmv

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 5, 2025

Larnach’s 116 OPS+ in 2024 was a career-best. Unfortunately the development didn’t continue, and he’s hardly been the exit velocity power hitter that the front office dreamed on when grabbing him out of Oregon State in the first round.

Derek Falvey has been shopping Larnach long before Friday, and those conversations can now continue this winter. It’s unlikely Larnach generates anything substantial in return, if the Twins can indeed find a trade partner.

Other MN Twins tendered

The other tender candidates include Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, who are both penciled in as front-line starters in next year’s rotation… if the MN Twins don’t trade them first. Sands is the top member of a gutted bullpen, along with Topa. Both Jeffers and Lewis will be every day starters.

Although the 70-92 record largely reflects a failure of a season, there was still plenty of positives to take away. Minnesota will highlight those during their offseason Diamond Awards ceremony this winter, but the recipients were revealed on Wednesday.

Diamond Awards winners highlight best of 2025 Minnesota Twins

It should be pretty expected that Bryon Buxton was the Minnesota Twins best player this season. He is going to get down-ballot MVP votes, and will earn contract incentive bonuses because of it. He’s not the only standout though, and the local BBWAA chapter voted on the yearly Diamond Awards that were made public this week.

Of course Byron Buxton was awarded with the team MVP. The results of the vote are not made public, but that should have been unanimous. Across 126 games he batted .264/.327/.551 with a career-high seven triples, 35 homers, and 83 RBI. With any level of help, Buxton would have led the Twins into a deep postseason run.

Buxton’s selection as Defensive Player of the Year likely represents an unwillingness to vote for since-departed players. Harrison Bader was traded to the Phillies, but he was easily Minnesota’s best fielder this season. Buxton as a second choice is hardly a misstep however.

There isn’t much of a surprise anywhere across the totality of these awards. Austin Martin being named the most improved player is a reflection of him capitalizing on late-season opportunity. After dealing with injury early in 2025, he finished with 50 games played and a .282/.374/,365 slash line. That will earn him an Opening Day roster spot in 2026, and he turned the arc of his career around.

Michael Busch, who played in the postseason with the Chicago Cubs, was named the Upper Midwest Player of the Year. The Inver Grove Heights native batted .261/.343/.523 with 34 home runs. Chicago was bounced from the postseason by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Twins will host the Diamond Awards ceremony on January 23, 2026 at Target Field during TwinsFest Live! The event will be followed by TwinsFest on the 24-25.

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.

Right now the only guaranteed money on the books is allotted to Byron Buxton ($15.1 million) and Pablo Lopez ($21.75 million). They have ten players eligible for arbitration, and bringing some of that talent back will help to fill out the roster.

MLB Trade Rumors has long been the gold standard when figuring out what arbitration salaries may look like. 2026 projections became public on Monday.

Twins arbitration projections paint a picture

Major League Baseball affords a period of time for organizations to keep players under team control. Before reaching free agency, players are granted raises through an arbitration process. Either the team and player can agree on a number, or they go to a hearing. The Twins have ten eligible players this offseason, and MLB Trade Rumors has outlined where they may land.

There’s a lot to break down here. Of the ten players up for arbitration, five seem like slam dunks. Royce Lewis, Ryan Jeffers, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, and Cole Sands will all be offered contracts. Trevor Larnach seems like a candidate on the fence, and there are a handful of veterans that could easily be replaced with others at the minimum.

Both Jeffers ($6.6M) and Ryan ($5.8M) become serious trade candidates for Derek Falvey with their values creeping upwards. Minnesota already dangled Ryan at the trade deadline, and he pairs with Pablo Lopez as potential salary dumps this offseason.

Larnach is an interesting case. At $4.7 million he’s no longer cheap. With a career OPS+ of just 101, he’s barely been over league averaged, and the power he was drafted for has translated into a single season (2025 – 17) with more than 15 homers.

There are also four relievers among the group. Only Cole Sands has been an above-average option, but the Twins bullpen was torn down to the studs at the trade deadline. How Falvey goes about rebuilding that group remains to be seen.

If the Minnesota Twins keep each of the five expected players, they’d add roughly $21.3 million to their 2026 payroll. Combined with Buxton and Lopez, that would push the overall amount to $58.15 million with seven of the 26 roster spots filled.

That doesn’t mean the final week of games can simply be skipped over though. Though the Texas Rangers will miss the playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies are vying for the National League’s top seed.

Minnesota is going to put its best foot forward to end the year from a talent perspective, and that means returning both of their starting catchers.

Vazquez and Jeffers return for Minnesota Twins

Christian Vazquez has been out since early August after undergoing emergency surgery due to an infection. Ryan Jeffers hit the concussion injured list just over two weeks ago. Now both are back to handle the final six games of the season.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/ZDW10IVanz

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 22, 2025

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/varBKUJ1Rw

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 23, 2025

The Vazquez move, made on Monday, seemed logical for at least a week now. He had trended towards returning, and spent the final games of Triple-A St. Paul’s season with the team in Memphis on a rehab assignment. Jeffers returning from his concussion was less certain.

For the past two seasons the Minnesota Twins exclusively used Jeffers and Vazquez behind the plate. It wasn’t until this year, when both Jhonny Pereda and Mickey Gasper assumed catching duties at times, was there a different backstop. That level of continuity is largely unprecedented at such a physically demanding position. Now the tandem will get to end the season together.

On Tuesday night against the Rangers both Jeffers and Vazquez are in the lineup. The former is playing as the designated hitter and batting third, while the latter catches and bats ninth. As they have done the majority of their time with Minnesota together, the expectation should be that the pair rotates the final games evenly.

Vazquez has played in 61 games this season and owns a .174/.251/.247 slash line. His 39 OPS+ is a career-low, and he has provided next-to-nothing offensively over the course of his three-year $30 million deal. He has been a clubhouse asset and a good defender behind the dish. Showing a level of health during this final stretch could land him suitors for a new deal over the offseason.

“Are you thinking sac bunt here?” – Cubs broadcaster right before the Ryan Jeffers home run pic.twitter.com/KAtERXnCoS

— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) July 9, 2025

While Jeffers has a better .262/.353/.394 slash line across 114 games, his power was sapped to the tune of just nine home runs this year. His 107 OPS+ is well off the career-best 134 OPS+ in 2023, and he may be a trade candidate for Minnesota this offseason.

Both players returning to the lineup and active roster is more about finishing the season on a positive note, rather than any reason to worry about production. It’s good to see both get clearance to be back, and their presence can at least help a sagging lineup during the final six games.

It’s not exactly surprising a mediocre team would get worse after the front office completed a trade deadline tear down. That has forced Rocco Baldelli to use a roster filled with less-than-ideal talent. It also hasn’t stopped players from getting injured.

Ryan Jeffers left Friday night’s game with a head injury, and the diagnosis has now gotten worse.

Ryan Jeffers dealing with concussion, MN Twins shuffle roster

What was originally called just a head contusion has turned worse for Ryan Jeffers. He now has a full-blown concussion and is being placed on the injured list.

#MNTwins roster moves:

– C Ryan Jeffers placed on concussion injured list
– RHP Brooks Kriske designated for assignment
– COF Carson McCusker recalled from Triple-A
– RHP Pierson Ohl recalled from Triple-A

Mickey Gasper and Jhonny Pereda are now the Twins' catching duo.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 7, 2025

It was unlikely that Jeffers would have reached a new career-high in games played this season. He sits at 114 with the team having just 20 to go. However, it’s now likely he has played his last game of the season.

Jeffers owns a .262/.353/.394 slash line with nine homers on the season. It’s bee an overall productive year at the plate, though his lack of power has been confusing. With 1.9 fWAR, he was Minnesota’s best chance to be the second player to surpass the 2.0 threshold this season.

The catching situation is now grave for Baldelli. Despite Jhonny Pereda having previously been promoted, he went unused behind the dish. Instead the Twins have opted to look at Mickey Gasper and his abysmal 35 OPS+.

Related: Twins Fans Happy to See Carlos Correa Traded?

Now Pereda and Gasper are the only catchers on the roster, and for 20 games Baldelli will have no one else to turn to. Christian Vazquez would like to return from an emergency surgery spurned by an infection, but time has all but run out.

Fringe additions come after latest DFA for Minnesota Twins

Rather than add anything of substance when rosters expanded, Minnesota chose to promote holdovers and leave their uninspiring talent in the mix. Since, Noah Davis continued to be terrible and was DFA’d. Brooks Kriske has finally seen the same fate.

We have seen Pierson Ohl before, and the results have been mixed (5.66 ERA 4.83 FIP in 20 2/3 innings). Still, there is future function there, and Minnesota using the September runway to play him makes infinitely more sense than what they have been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Related: MN Twins Fans Make Hatred for Pohlads 98.5% Loud and Clear

McCusker has been promoted previously, and drawn excitement from fans due to his ridiculous power. His season has flamed out substantially since his initial hot streak (.761 OPS last 18 games, .601 OPS in 49 games after initial demotion), but he’ll finally be given a bit of runway to end the year.

He’s not much of an outfielder, but a right-handed bat with pop could certainly be infused into the lineup.

The clubhouse indicated to the front office that it was time to get serious about selling. The front office had to grapple with the reality that they failed in roster construction, again.

Minnesota is about to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons, and it has started to sink in.

Reality setting in for MN Twins prior to trade deadline

On Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox the MN Twins set social media ablaze because closer Jhoan Duran simply gave his bullpen catcher a hug. That’s representative of the reality facing the team though. Players are going to go, and Ryan Jeffers talked with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes about just that.

“We’re still kind of in a holding pattern of seeing exactly how far down the rabbit hole we go as an organization,. I’m sure now that the ball’s rolling with making a move, stuff is going to start happening.”

Ryan Jeffers – The Athletic

Jeffers isn’t likely to be among the players that Minnesota moves. Christian Vazquez is an impending free agent (and very much available). Beyond that, the position is thin at the high minors. Danny Coulombe is an impending free agent that is having a career-year, so he could go, and echoes the sentiments of Jeffers.

“You don’t think it’s a real thing, and when one domino falls, you’re like, ‘OK, this is actually going to happen.’ It’s definite we’re looking to sell.”

Danny Coulombe – The Athletic

The rabbit hole Jeffers is talking about relates to the significance of future assets being traded. As a bad team it’s not surprising you’d move anyone that has no set contract beyond this season. That isn’t the case for names like Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, or Griffin Jax. On Wednesday morning it was reported that Carlos Correa could be on the table as well.

Related: Report: Houston Astros Coming for MN Twins Carlos Correa

Another impending free agent that has come to grips with the reality is Willi Castro. He is having a better year than his All-Star season in 2024, and that will make him more than valuable to a multitude of teams.

“It’s not going to take me by surprise. I’m already prepared. I wish I could stay here. … I don’t think anybody is going to be surprised by the news.”

Willi Castro – The Athletic

The closer things get to Thursday’s 5pm CDT MLB trade deadline, the more clarity the clubhouse will have. It’s going to look like a different room when the team returns Friday in Cleveland, but they have already submitted to that reality.

MN Twins moves could come fast

It seems like ages ago that Paddack was traded to Detroit, but that was just Monday evening. So far that has been the only deal Derek Falvey has done. However, he holds plenty of assets teams are coming for, and he’ll have to make decisions eventually.

Wednesday the Twins are in action against the Boston Red Sox for a matinee affair. They’ll get on a plane and head to Cleveland after that contest. It may behoove the squad not to offer plane tickets to those that won’t be with the team on Friday.

Related: Excess Demand for Pitching Empowering MN Twins’ Stubborness

Deadline day always brings a flurry of moves. You can expect plenty of the Twins pieces to be caught up in that reality. It will be worth monitoring the tea leaves Wednesday night though to see what may get done before the sun comes up again.

Just over an hour and a half before playing game two of the series against Boston the news was announced. Minnesota walked off the Red Sox Monday night after giving up four runs and trailing 4-3.

With Paddack sent to the Detroit Tigers, the Twins also needed to make a roster move for a new pitcher. It was reported that Pierson Ohl was on his way for a big league debut late in the evening.

Inflammation is Buxton’s latest setback for Minnesota Twins

Byron Buxton made a leaping catch at the wall in the series against Washington over the weekend. He exited the game and underwent an MRI, but it showed just rib cartilage irritation. Unfortunately that hasn’t resolved itself and now he is headed back to the injured list for the second time this season.

#MNTwins news: Byron Buxton is going on the IL.

Ryan Jeffers has been reinstated.

Pierson Ohl has his contract selected.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 29, 2025

The Twins placement of Buxton on the injured list is retroactive to July 27. The hope would be that he misses the minimum and that allows he to be activated on August 6. Ryan Jeffers, who just had a baby, returns from the paternity list to take his place.

It’s unfortunate news for Buxton who has undergone a career’s worth of injuries. Last season was just the second time in 11 big league seasons he has played more than 100 games (102). He wasn’t going to reach the 140 he played in 2017 this year, but could blow by last season’s total with a clean bill of health the rest of the way.

Buck makes these catches look way too easy pic.twitter.com/JJOH8KmWJ0

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 26, 2025

Through 85 games the Twins superstar owns a .282/.343/.561 slash line with 23 home runs. He won’t win the American League MVP over either Aaron Judge or Cal Raliegh, but his 3.9 fWAR should have him in the conversation. He has multi-million dollar contract incentives for finishing in the top ten of voting.

Related: Insiders Suggest Two Landing Spots for Twins Trade Candidates

As a selling team it doesn’t really matter what Buxton provides the team as an individual. He is a competitor though, and it’s logical that he is chasing his own career-best numbers. If he can get back on the field by mid-next week, there is still reason to believe he can achieve them.

Ohl and Jeffers to MN Twins active roster

The move to add Pierson Ohl became official on Tuesday, but he didn’t need to clear a 26-man roster spot with Chris Paddack departing. His capacity on the mound is unknown, but he has worked in a starting and bulk man role.

Jeffers has been fine if not unspectacular this season. He owns a 105 OPS+ with a .254/.346/.399 slash line. The offense hasn’t replicated the 133 OPS+ he posted in 2023, and the defensive remains something of a concern. He currently is the only Twins catcher in the plans for the future though.

Related: Top Contenders Blowing MN Twins Up Over Trade Assets

Mickey Gasper was originally called up to replace Jeffers while he was on the paternity list. The utility man did get behind the plate briefly, but will now remain on the roster with Buxton heading to the injured list. He scored the game-tying run on Monday night after being hit by Red Sox reliever Jordan Hicks.

Of course, injuries play heavily into this run of bad baseball. In fact, the injured list has become a rite of passage for the Minnesota Twins lineup, of late. Pretty much every player on roster who matters has been on it at some point.

As of now, both Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews are taking their turns, after pitching on a bad mound against the A’s two weeks ago. More recently, Royce Lewis joined them after straining his hamstring running down the first base line (again).

Ryan Jeffers leaves Minnesota Twins lineup with injury

Then Tuesday night, it was Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers who exited the lineup early, after he took a foul tip off his hand early on. Initially, he remained in the game. But not long after that foul tip, Jeffers dropped a third strike that allowed two more runs to score.

That forced David Festa from the game. It’s not a coincidence that, when Jeffers spot in the lineup came around for the third time in the fifth inning, it was Vazquez who checked into the game and took over behind the plate, not Ryan Jeffers, who was diagnosed was a right hand contusion. Thankfully, X-Rays were negative.

Ryan Jeffers exited with a right hand contusion. X-ray was negative. #MNTwins

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) June 18, 2025

The play that changed the game for the Twins… pic.twitter.com/zvjLGXWU4l

— Ted (@tlschwerz) June 18, 2025

Sure, gutting out an injury to try and help your team seems like the commendable thing to do… until it backfires, and you wind up costing your team instead. Then, that admiration turns to frustration.

Once Jeffers realized he was having issues catching the baseball, he should have pulled himself out of the game immediately, especially given the circumstances. With guys on base, two outs in the inning and two strikes on the current batter, catching strike three becomes pretty important.

The misplay resulted in two more Reds runs being scored, which surrendered the Twins’ lead. In fact, all six of the Cincinnati Reds runs in game one of this three-game series came with two outs. That’s pretty incredible.

Jeffers optimistic about injury

After the game, Jeffers seemed confident that he will be back in the lineup soon, even vowing to be available for Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night, should the Twins manager need him.

“It swelled up pretty bad. But no break. Grip strength is fine, so we should be good to go (Wednesday) in whatever capacity Rocco wants me in.”

Ryan Jeffers on hand injury suffered Tuesday vs Reds (quote via The Athletic)

Unfortunately, Jeffers’ exit exposed the Minnesota Twins lineup further. His replacement, Christian Vazquez, has been truly terrible offensively pretty much since joining the team two years ago.

Related: Royce Lewis Return Timeline Coming into Focus

He’s slashed .218/.265/.319 as a Twin. Tuesday night, Vazquez went 0-for-3 in the two-spot, including a game-ending strikeout. After the game, Ryan Jeffers