Ryan Jeffers could be the missing piece for the New York Yankees.
The Minnesota Twins catcher, and pending free agent, has been a target of Yankees GM Brian Cashman, and The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner spelled out why Jeffers could be a perfect fit for Yankees if they acquire him before the trade deadline Aug. 3.
Yankees catchers, though elite at pitch framing, sport an abysmal minus-14.5 offensive fWAR and 54 wRC+, where 100 is average. The latter mark is 28th in the majors, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
Plus, franchise catcher Austin Wells has been suffering from cervical headaches, with no timetable for him to return. The Yankees are still 8-1 since he went on the injured list June 6.
Ryan Jeffers Could be a Perfect fit for the Yankees
GettyTwins catcher Ryan Jeffers will be a free agent after this season.
Even before Wells went down, the Yankees had been linked to Jeffers due to the ongoing offensive struggles of their catcher position.
With Wells absent, the role has been given to Ali Sanchez and J.C. Escarra. Each has performed admirably, if not playing over his head, which Kirschner noted.
“Backup catcher J.C. Escarra, another left-handed hitter whom manager Aaron Boone has lauded as a top-15 catcher if given a bigger opportunity, has not taken advantage of his at-bats, posting a 48 wRC+,” Kirschner wrote. “Sánchez has a 96 wRC+ in limited plate appearances, but his success has been fueled by a high BABIP (batting average on balls in play).”
Enter Jeffers, who is arguably the best offensive catcher in the entire sport tucked away in Minnesota, a team that reportedly is about begin a rebuild. Jeffers boasts a .949 OPS in 122 at-bats and is still fifth on the team in home runs (7) despite missing more than 30 games due to a broken bone in his hand.
“He has been on the injured list since May 19 with a broken left hamate bone and was expected to miss six to eight weeks,” Kirschner wrote. “If Jeffers, 29, recovers before the deadline, it would make sense for the rebuilding Twins to trade the impending free agent.
“Before getting injured, Jeffers posted a 163 wRC+, and he’s been an above-average hitter each season since 2022.”
Aside from the offensive tools, Jeffers has a link to the Yankees organization in Tanner Swanson. Swanson, the Yankees director of catching, is a former coach of Jeffers.
“Adding a catcher midseason is certainly not easy, whether you’re talking about somebody internally or potentially somebody externally,” Swanson told Kirschner. “Getting up to speed with not only what our pitchers’ strengths are and how they tend to attack hitters is honestly probably the easy part. I think the more challenging part is learning the common language that maybe an organization uses when they talk about pitching plans or how to attack hitters.”
The Yankees are Purposely Trying to Keep Ben Rice From Catching
GettyBen Rice played catcher for the Yankees in a pinch in 2025.
Yankees fans who have tuned in since at least last season may be wondering why Ben Rice isn’t getting a shot behind the plate.
Rice, of course, is a natural catcher who played there at Dartmouth and in the minor leagues before transitioning to first base.
Catching Rice could both preserve the Yankees’ deep prospect pool while opening the door for the white-hot Paul Goldschmidt to play first base every day.
But Kirschner spelled out the reason Rice hasn’t caught in a game this year.
“The Yankees do not want Ben Rice to catch because he’s become too important for the team’s overall offense,” he wrote. “His getting worn down behind the plate is risky.”
Rice played 29 games behind the plate in 2025 and had an .879 OPS as a catcher last year. But this season, Rice leads the Yankees, and is second in the majors behind Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros, in OPS (1.001) and is on pace to surpass 40 home runs.
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