The August third MLB trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and Twins fans still don’t have a definitive answer on whether or not their team will be buyers or sellers at that point. On July 17th the Twins had a huge victory in the opening game of their series against the Cubs in Chicago to get back to .500 for the first time in over two months. Since then they’ve lost four of five games to the Cubs and Guardians and are now three games below .500 and three games out of a playoff spot. A drastically different position than they found themselves in just five days ago, and it could be enough to change them from potential buyers to surefire sellers at the trade deadline if they can’t turn things around in the next two weeks.
If the Twins do decide to tear it down again at this year's trade deadline or even if they decide on some sort of a half-selling, half-buying approach, it definitely feels like Ryan Jeffers could be the most likely player to be shipped out. He’s having the best season of his career by a decent margin despite the broken hamate bone he suffered in May, which sidelined him for around two months. Jeffers has only played in 43 games this season, but he’s been such a game changer when healthy that he’s already accumulated a 2.1 bWAR, which is fourth on the team and second amongst Twins position players behind only Byron Buxton. Jeffers is slashing .287/.398/.552 on the season, good enough for an OPS+ of 163.
There are two teams out of the American League East division that could surely be suitors for Jeffers, those two teams being the Yankees and the Rays. The Rays currently lead the Yankees in the AL East division by 2.5 games, but they are the teams with the two best records in the American League, with the Yankees holding the top wild card spot.
New York fans have seemingly had Jeffers towards the top of their wish list in terms of who they want their team to acquire at the trade deadline. They have gotten very little out of their catchers this season. Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra both have put up a sub-.550 OPS on the season and have a combined 0.3 bWAR between the two of them. Additionally, Jeffers only has a half-season of team control, so it seems like it would be an excellent fit in the Bronx.
Twins-Yankees Ryan Jeffers mock trade
Yankees receive: C Ryan Jeffers
Twins receive: RHP Ben Hess (Yankees #5 prospect) LHP Henry Lalane (Yankees #14 prospect)
This is a deal that seemingly works for both sides. The Yankees get an all-star-caliber catcher and get a massive boost to a lineup that really needs a boost with the absence of Judge. When he gets healthy and you add a bat like Jeffers to that lineup, you’re probably looking at the most dangerous lineup in the American League. On the Twins' side of things, they would be adding to a farm system that's already very strong and deep. If there was a lack of something amongst the Twins' farm system currently, it would probably be a lack of starting pitching. This deal would give that a serious boost, landing a prospect in Hess who could debut at some point next season and Lalane, who has pitched very well in the low minors this season and has some serious upside.
The Tampa Rays are another team that could seriously benefit from adding Jeffers to their squad. They also haven't gotten a ton of production out of their catchers so far. Both of their two regular catchers, Nick Fortes and Hunter Feducca, have been below average offensively this season, and they’ve combined for just a 0.7 bWAR. The Rays are also a team that the Twins have done business with a handful of times in recent seasons, and the Twins have seemingly won most of, if not all, of those deals.
Twins-Rays Ryan Jeffers mock trade
Rays receive: C Ryan Jeffers
Twins receive: RHP Anderson Brito (Rays #7 prospect), RHP Michael Forret (Rays #9 prospect)
Another mock deal here that is pretty similar to the previous one. The Twins would be getting a couple decent pitching prospects in return for their star catcher. Brito is higher ranked, but he still hasn’t pitched past High-A yet; although there's definitely some upside there, it just could be a bit before he makes his debut. Forret is the more major league-ready arm in this return. He’s pitching in Triple-A right now, and he hasn’t looked quite as good as he had in Double-A in his first 10 starts of the season. However, he’s still only 22, so the fact that he’s already in Triple-A is impressive.
If the Twins decide to sell at the trade deadline, Ryan Jeffers could be one of their most valuable trade chips. Both the Yankees and Rays have clear needs at catcher, and they both seemingly have the prospect depth to make a deal work. All in all, it could be the opportune time for the Twins to move Jeffers despite the season he’s having. The team did just select Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third overall, and surely they do view him as the backstop of the future. However, I don’t see how they wouldn’t have at least some interest in a short-term high-AAV extension. Otherwise, dealing him now could accelerate the organization's long-term plans behind the plate.
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