Do the Twins Want a Platoon Behind the Plate?

Gone is Mitch Garver. Gone is Gary Sanchez. Gone is Sandy Leon. Gone is Caleb Hamilton. The Minnesota Twins lone catcher on the 40-man roster entering free agency is Ryan Jeffers. He spent much of 2022 on the shelf after an injury, but he’s the early favorite to start the majority of games in 2023 for Rocco Baldelli.

Jeffers was seen as more of a bat-only prospect that scouts wondered if he could stick behind the plate. The Twins scouting department felt otherwise, and thus far he’s impressed defensively. We’ve seen glimpses of the good bat, particularly the power, but nothing to substantiate certainty at this point.

Looking at a position not often associated with offense, and one where the free agent market remains relatively bleak, Minnesota could be tempted into a platoon situation behind Jeffers. No one is looking for a left-handed thrower behind the plate, but the left-handed hitters currently available aren’t exactly sure things either.

Given former Athletics back stop Stephen Vogt announced his retirement, there are just three lefty bats on the open market:

Omar Narvaez
Maybe the cream of this crop, Narvaez is soon-to-be 31 years old and owns a career 100 OPS+. His .597 OPS in 2022 was a career-worst, and despite an All-Star appearance with Milwaukee last season, he was both injured and ineffective. As one would expect, he has been a better hitter over the course of his career against right-handed pitching. Although not a significant power guy, Narvaez has ripped 47 of his 51 career dingers off of righties. Having made just $5 million last season and coming off a down year, his price should be easily attainable.

Tucker Barnhart
After spending eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Barnhart joined the Detroit Tigers in 2022. He’s never been a great offensive player, and he’s topped double-digit home runs just twice in his nine-year career. The 64 OPS+ this season with Detroit was a career-worst, and the .267 SLG was truly unfathomable for a guy that played 94 games. His .705 career OPS against righties is well above the .580 OPS mark against lefties, however, and that could salvage some of his production.

Jason Castro
Not only does this seem unlikely from a return-to-Minnesota perspective, but Castro was contemplating retirement going into 2022 and then wound up having knee surgery ending his season. Castro played just 34 games this year for the Astros and in only 66 games during 2021. He had proven a solid track record of health when he signed with the Twins back in 2017, but it’s been downhill since, the 'normal' trajectory for catchers after they hit 30.

The options at catcher are almost always relatively bleak, but limiting it to just free agents and focusing on a left-handed bat doesn’t paint a pretty picture either.