Jeffers is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.
It looks to be a routine day off for the Twins' top catcher. Christian Vazquez will be behind the plate Tuesday while Pablo Lopez does the pitching.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Sitting for Game 1
Rotowire
Jeffers isn't in the Twins' lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Jeffers will get a breather to begin Saturday's activities after going 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored during Friday's loss. Christian Vazquez will fill in behind the plate and bat eighth in Game 1, likely setting up Jeffers to start in the nightcap.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Sitting out afternoon game
Rotowire
Jeffers is out of the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
The Twins and Dodgers are playing a day game after a night game, providing an opportunity for Jeffers to get a breather. Christian Vazquez will handle catching duties for Minnesota in the series finale.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Gets rest for day game
Rotowire
Jeffers is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.
Christian Vazquez will get a turn behind the dish in the series opener while Jeffers rests after he starred in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Brewers with two hits -- including a home run -- and four RBI. Jeffers had gone 0-for-11 over his first three starts before Wednesday's breakout game.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: First hit of 2024 leaves yard
Rotowire
Jeffers went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and four RBI in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Brewers.
After an 0-for-13 beginning to his season, including his first two official at-bats in this one, Jeffers cranked a three-run homer off Bryse Wilson in the seventh inning to break open a 3-3 tie. The 26-year-old catcher had a breakout 2023 campaign, slashing .276/.369/.490 with 14 home runs in 96 games, and he'll be given every chance to repeat or improve on those numbers. Jeffers has started four of the Twins' first five games -- three behind the plate, and one at DH.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Getting day off
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Brewers.
It's the first day off this season for Jeffers, who had started two games at catcher and one at designated hitter in the first three games. Christian Vazquez will do the catching for Louie Varland on Tuesday.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Bats second in season opener
Rotowire
Jeffers started at catcher and went 0-for-5 in Thursday's Opening Day win at Kansas City. He hit No. 2 in the lineup for the second time in his career.
Jeffers didn't do much in the season opener, but his position in the lineup against a left-handed starter shows the team has confidence that his second half showing last season was a sign of things to come. Jeffers surged at the plate in with a career-high .858 OPS and a .928 OPS in the second half. He's expected to split playing time with Christian Vazquez as the Twins like to give their catchers rest. However, Jeffers could get the majority of starts.
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Twins plan to split catcher duties
Rotowire
The Twins plan to about equally split playing time behind the plate this season even with Jeffers' ascension late last year that saw him start every playoff game, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
The Twins like to utilize two catchers to reduce wear and tear, so this isn't a big surprise. However, Jeffers surged at the plate last season with a career-high .858 OPS and a .928 OPS in the second half. Meanwhile, Christian Vazquez struggled by hitting .223 with little power (.095 ISO) and a paltry .280 OBA. Jeffers could still see a majority of the playing time, but Baldelli's comments should give pause for any fantasy manager looking for a significant increase in his counting stats.
The Twins and Jeffers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.425 million contract Thursday, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.
Jeffers was arbitration-eligible for the first time. He earned the big raise with a breakout 2023 season which saw him post an .858 OPS with 14 home runs across 96 contests. Jeffers is slated to share catching duties with Christian Vazquez again in 2024.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Swats 14th homer
Rotowire
Jeffers went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-6 win over the Rockies.
The backstop followed a Trevor Larnach home run in the seventh with a homer of his own to tie the game for the Twins. The long ball was Jeffers' third in four games and 14th of the season, which matches a career high. It remains to be seen how the Twins plan to divvy up the playing time between Jeffers and Christian Vazquez once the playoffs begin next week, but both have been in the lineup two of the last three games, with each getting one start at DH.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Knocks in three runs in victory
Rotowire
Jeffers went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI against Oakland in a 6-4 win on Wednesday.
Jeffers brought Minnesota even at 4-4 with his two-run blast to left field in the sixth inning and added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. The backstop went 14 contests without a long ball between Aug. 25 and Sept. 17 but has now gone deep twice in his past four games. Jeffers already has a career-best 42 RBI this season, and he needs one more homer before the end of the campaign to tie his career-high mark of 14.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Receives Tuesday off
Rotowire
Jeffers is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Oakland.
Jeffers has an .857 OPS over 45 at-bats in September but continues to split time behind the plate with Christian Vazquez, who is starting and batting eighth Tuesday.
... See More... See Less
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Powers Twins to victory
Rotowire
Jeffers went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a triple, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Angels.
Jeffers picked up a triple in the sixth inning that traveled 416-feet and would've been a home run in 24 of 30 parks and followed up with a two-run blast in the seventh to put the Twins up 9-3. Although he's been a much more impactful hitter than Christian Vazquez (.841 OPS compared to .597 for Vazquez), the two continue to split time behind the dish, and it's unclear if that would potentially change during the playoffs. For the year, Jeffers is slashing .270/.367/.474 with 12 home runs, 39 RBI, 43 runs and a 32:90 BB:K in 317 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
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.
