The Minnesota Twins had plenty of questions this offseason but one of the sneakiest is what would happen at catcher. Ryan Jeffers is entrenched as the team’s starter but trade rumors around Christian Vázquez and an uncertain future for Jair Camargo made fans wonder what the Twins’ battery could look like when they open the season.
The Twins provided another piece to the puzzle when they acquired Diego Cartaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. A former top 100 prospect, Cartaya adds another interesting player to a situation that currently has five backstops on the 40-man roster and brings intrigue for what they could do this season.
Here’s a look at how the Twins catchers stack up and what their expectations could be this season.
Ryan Jeffers
Jeffers was the main catcher for the Twins last season but he wasn’t able to replicate his strong 2023 season seeing his batter’s line drop from .276/.369/.490 to .226/.300/.432. Jeffers still slugged 21 homers and drove in 64 RBI in a career-high 122 games but his defense took a hit with -4 defensive runs saved in 86 games behind the plate. Regardless, it was the first season in his career with a negative DRS and he should get an even bigger workload as the Twins head into 2025.
Christian Vázquez
Of the five players on this list, Vázquez is the least likely to play for the Twins next season. Vázquez’s defense remains elite as his seven defensive runs saved were his highest total since posting 11 in 2022. But his offense has dropped off, hitting .222/.265/.322 with 13 homers and 59 RBI in two seasons with the Twins. With $10 million remaining on his three-year, $30 million contract, Vázquez is a popular trade candidate and is likely to be moved before Opening Day.
Mickey Gasper
If Vázquez is traded, the Twins are going to need a backup catcher. With most free agent options exhausted, the trade market was the next best option and led to Minnesota acquiring Mickey Gasper on Christmas Eve.
A 29-year-old is typically known as a “Quad-A” player and Gasper has just 13 games of major league experience after last year’s call-up with the Boston Red Sox. But he’s hit in each level of the minor leagues including a .328/.440/.531 batter’s line with 12 home runs and 58 RBI in the Boston organization last season. If he can figure out the defensive aspect of his game, he could be the frontrunner to start the season as the Twins’ backup.
Jair Camargo
Before Thursday’s trade, Camargo was a solid bet to make an unexpected impact for the Twins this season. The 25-year-old had a strong season, hitting .259/.323/.503 with 21 homers and 53 RBI for Triple-A St. Paul in 2023 but his impatient approach at the plate caused him to slide to a .212/.290/.403 line with 12 homers and 51 RBI for the Saints last season.
Camargo did make his major league debut last season and will likely be a call away from the majors to open next season. But his 29 percent strikeout rate from last season needs to come down for him to stick in Minneapolis.
Diego Cartaya
Cartaya is the final piece to this puzzle after being acquired on Thursday. A consensus top-20 prospect before the 2023 season, Cartaya’s stock dropped considerably as his bat failed to progress on his way through the Dodgers system.
While a .208/.293/.350 line with six homers and 25 RBI is disappointing, there are some positives to Cartaya’s game. The first is that Cartaya was nearly five years younger than the average player at the Triple-A level last season and his defense has improved considerably according to MLB Pipeline’s midseason report. If Cartaya can find a way to become an average hitter, he should make his way to the majors this summer.