NEW YORK — For the past two and a half seasons, the Twins have committed themselves to a nearly-even timeshare behind the plate, alternating starts between Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez.
The duo’s impressive streak of starting every game behind the plate since the beginning of the 2023 season came to an abrupt, unexpected end over the weekend after Vázquez developed an infection in his shoulder that led to a hospitalization and a procedure to clean it out.
With Vázquez out indefinitely, Jeffers will see an expanded opportunity. It comes at a good time as the 28-year-old, who in his sixth season in the majors, says he feels “probably the best I’ve felt in the big leagues,” at the plate.
“I just feel so under control,” Jeffers said. “There were times last year where I was hitting a ton of homers, but I felt like I happened to run into a ball. Now it feels like there’s so much more … ability to consistently put the barrel on the ball. It just feels a lot better.”
Coming into Tuesday’s game against the New York Yankees, the catcher was hitting .366 with a .909 OPS over his last 25 games. Within that stretch, he had a 12-game hitting streak, which came to an end on Monday night in New York.
Though he’s far off last year’s home run total — he hit a career-high 21 last season and entered Tuesday’s game with eight — Jeffers has upped his walk rate and slightly cut his strikeout rate.
Almost across the board, Jeffers’ offensive numbers are up, something he attributes to a mechanical tweak plus his mechanics putting him in the right spot to where he can be more focused on his play and the execution of it rather than trying to figure out the mechanics themselves.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I obviously want more homers. But this is by far the best offensive year that I’ve had, especially the underlying numbers. I’m doing everything the best I’ve done in my career.”
And he’ll have even more of an opportunity to show that with Vázquez sidelined. Jeffers will catch “most of the games,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. He’s also receiving at-bats as the Twins’ designated hitter, as he did on Tuesday.
“There’s no formula here,” Baldelli said. “Ryan’s going to get a lot of time behind the plate, and it’ll be a good thing for him pushing his body. The mentality of preparing to catch every day is something he has only had in small spurts over the last few years. It’ll be good for him.”
Gasper starts
With Matt Wallner’s return from the paternity list — he welcomed his first child, a daughter named Elliotte Bryn over the weekend — the Twins optioned catcher Jhonny Pereda back to Triple-A. Pereda was called up on Aug. 8 and did not appear in a game.
With the move, the Twins are committing — for the time being, at least — to Mickey Gasper as their back-up catcher. Gasper caught his first full major league game on Sunday and started again on Tuesday.
“I think he did a good job receiving, and his pitch calling was good,” Baldelli said. “I think he handled the responsibilities well. … He’s got some experience behind the dish. He’s caught a bunch at Triple-A. Now he catches here.”
Briefly
Commissioner Rob Manfred visited the Twins’ clubhouse pregame, holding a meeting with the players. … Twins rookie Luke Keaschall spent his Tuesday at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J. … The Twins signed 28-year-old left-handed pitcher Génesis Cabrera to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A. Cabrera has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons and has pitched for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates this season.
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