Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Absent from Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in Saturday's lineup against the White Sox.
The Twins have opted to alternate starts between Jeffers and Christian Vazquez since Sept. 6. Jeffers went 2-for-5 with two RBI on Friday but will give way to Vazquez -- who is hitting ninth -- on Saturday.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Not in lineup Thursday
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in the lineup Thursday against the White Sox.
Christian Vazquez will catch and bat ninth for the visiting Twins. Jeffers has enjoyed a productive second half overall and hit a double Wednesday versus the Rays, but he is essentially sharing starts with Vazquez here in mid-September.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Sitting out Tuesday
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Jeffers is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rays.
It marks 13 straight games that the Twins have alternated starts at catcher for Jeffers and Christian Vazquez. Jeffers has cooled off a bit over the last month, putting up a .612 OPS with one home run across his previous 74 plate appearances.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Out of lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Jeffers is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mets.
Christian Vazquez will start at catcher and bat seventh for the Twins. Jeffers went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Saturday's win over New York and is sitting on a strong .831 OPS with 10 home runs through 84 games (285 plate appearances) on the year.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Not starting Friday
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Jeffers isn't in the Twins' lineup Friday against the Mets.
Jeffers will take a seat after having his three-game hitting streak snapped Thursday against Cleveland. Christian Vazquez will take his turn behind the dish and bat seventh.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Taking seat Tuesday
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has alternated starts for his two catchers over the last week, and it's Christian Vazquez's turn after Jeffers was behind the plate for Monday's 20-6 win. Jeffers has a hit in each of his three games so far in September after finishing August going 0-for-13 with 10 strikeouts in his final three tilts.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Hits bench Sunday
Rotowire
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Jeffers will retreat to the bench for the series finale, giving way to Christian Vazquez behind the dish. The two backstops have now alternated starts over the past six games, but the playing time is more likely to tilt in Jeffers' favor over the final month of the regular season. Jeffers is maintaining a .917 OPS since the All-Star break, while Vazquez's OPS sits at .668 during that same stretch.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Heads to bench Friday
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Rangers.
Jeffers will get a breather after he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Wednesday versus the Guardians. Christian Vazquez will start behind the plate and bat eighth in the opener with Texas.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Poaching work from Vazquez
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Jeffers will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Despite going 0-for-9 with six strikeouts in his last two starts, Jeffers will be behind the dish for the fourth time in six contests as the Twins close out their series with the Guardians. Jeffers owns a .965 OPS since the All-Star break and looks to be the Twins' preferred option at catcher over Christian Vazquez for the moment.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Belts decisive homer
Rotowire
Jeffers hit a two-run home run as a pinch hitter against Texas in a 7-5 win Thursday.
With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Jeffers slugged a 427-foot, two-run homer to provide the winning runs for Minnesota. Though the backstop continues to rake, he has been on the bench more often than not lately as Christian Vazquez has been the primary starter behind the plate. The Twins may need to find a way to get Jeffers' bat in the lineup more often, though, considering that he is batting .329 with six homers, 17 RBI and three thefts over 76 at-bats since the All-Star break.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Brewers.
Jeffers is hitting .256 with four home runs and 15 strikeouts in 13 games this month, but he's now sat out four times in five games. Christian Vazquez will get the start at catcher Tuesday and appears to have overtaken Jeffers on the depth chart.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Sits again Saturday
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Jeffers (back) remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Pirates.
Jeffers was scratched from the lineup Friday with a sore back, an issue which will sideline him for at least one more day. Christian Vazquez remains the starter behind the plate.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Back in action Sunday
Rotowire
Jeffers (back) is starting behind the plate and batting seventh Sunday versus the Pirates.
The 26-year-old was held out of the starting nine the past two games due to back soreness, but he'll rejoin the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Pirates. Jeffers will look to continue his hot hitting in August, as he has a 1.020 OPS with four homers and three doubles through 40 at-bats this month.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Scratched with sore back
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Jeffers was scratched from the lineup Friday due to back soreness, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Christian Vazquez will instead start at catcher and bat eighth for the Twins as they open a three-game weekend series versus Pittsburgh. Jeffers boasts a .328/.430/.597 slash line in 20 games (80 plate appearances) since the All-Star break and should be considered day-to-day.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Heads to bench Wednesday
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Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Jeffers will hit the bench after he went 4-for-21 with four walks while starting each of the last six games at either catcher or designated hitter. Though Jeffers appears to have at least temporarily emerged as the Twins' top backstop, Christian Vazquez will get the nod behind the plate for the series finale.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Taking seat Tuesday
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Jeffers is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game in Detroit.
Jeffers slugged a home run in Monday's win in what was his third straight start (two at catcher and one at designated hitter), but he'll give way to Christian Vazquez behind the plate Tuesday. The 26-year-old boasts an .895 OPS with nine dingers over 211 plate appearances this season.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Lofts ninth homer
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Jeffers went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Monday's win over the Tigers.
The 26-year-old catcher launched a three-run shot off Joey Wentz in the first inning to extend Minnesota's early lead. Jeffers now has four long balls in his last four games played, further bolstering his case for more playing time behind the dish.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Launches two long balls
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Jeffers went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double and four total RBI in a 12-1 rout of the Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Jeffers' big offensive game included a two-run homer in the second inning, a run-scoring double in the third and a solo shot in the fifth. The backstop has gone deep three times in his past two contests, driving in six runs over that stretch. Jeffers remains in a timeshare with Christian Vazquez behind the plate, but the former's hot bat may result in him being in the lineup more often. Since the All-Star break, Jeffers is batting .421 (16-for-38) with four homers, nine runs, 11 RBI and three stolen bases over 13 contests.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Launches sixth home run
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Jeffers went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Cardinals.
Jeffers opened the scoring Thursday with a two-run blast off Matthew Liberatore in the second inning. The 26-year-old backstop has been swinging the bat well, going 10-for-25 (.400) with two homers and a 1.144 OPS over his last eight games. Jeffers' hot stretch has granted him an increased role in Minnesota -- he's started over Christian Vazquez at catcher in three of the Twins' last six contests. Overall, Jeffers is slashing an impressive .281/.385/.455 with six homers, 26 runs scored, 18 RBI and three steals across 199 plate appearances this season.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Three-hit day in win
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Jeffers went 3-for-5 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's win over the White Sox.
Jeffers notched his third three-hit effort of the season. His final hit of the day was the biggest as he delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the 12th to win it for the Twins. Jeffers is now slashing .272/.379/.437 with 14 extra-base hits, 15 RBI, 24 runs and a 19:52 BB:K in 181 plate appearances. He has a .816 OPS compared a .578 for Christian Vazquez; however, it hasn't translated to more playing time as Jeffers still makes a bit less than half the starts behind the plate.
