Christian Vazquez signing a reported three-year, $30 million contract with the Twins marks the first splash into free agency for Minnesota – and it might be a bigger splash than most might think at first glance.
The 32-year-old is both an upgrade at the plate and behind the dish compared to Gary Sanchez and Ryan Jeffers were last season for the Twins. Vazquez ranked fourth among catchers in defensive runs saved in 2022, and he slashed .274/.315/.399.
His .714 OPS in 119 games – 84 with the Red Sox and then 35 with the world-champion Astros – was superior to both Sanchez and Jeffers. Line them up and you can see the offensive superiority Vazquez had over Sanchez and Jeffers.
- Vazquez: .274/.315/.399 (.714 OPS), 9 HR, 52 RBI
- Sanchez: .205/.282/.377 (.659 OPS), 16 HR, 61 RBI
- Jeffers: .208/.285/.363 (.648 OPS), 7 HR, 27 RBI
Twins catchers combined in 2022 to hit .197 with a .630 OPS.
Vazquez has also shown the ability to put up even better numbers with the bat in his hands. In 2019 and 2020 combined, he slashed .278/.327/.472 for a very good .799 OPS. And if the baseballs were indeed juiced in 2019, when Vazquez slugged a career-high 23 homers, it didn’t seem to impact his overall ability to hit. His OPS in 2019 was .798 and he followed that up in 2020 with an .801 OPS.
Jeffers is still with the Twins and at just 25 years old he could be an ideal trade chip moving forward. But if he sticks with Minnesota, he’s a solid backup to Vazquez and will have the opportunity to learn under one of the best defensive catches in the league.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report Vazquez’s deal with the Twins.
