Sep 27, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) prepares to bat during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
In OnPattison's Opening Day lineup projection 1.0 released last week, Rafael Marchán was the starting catcher for the Phillies. There's a pretty good chance that someone else will actually be behind the dish in red pinstripes on March 26.
Who exactly that will be remains to be seen, because while everyone seems to think J.T. Realmuto will eventually be back for an eighth season with the Phillies, he remains a free agent.
Tuesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic provided an update on where things stand with the Phillies and their search for a starting catcher:
The Phillies have explored contingencies because pitchers and catchers report to Florida in five weeks. It would be ideal to have a starting catcher report. The Phillies have talked trades for catchers, young and old; Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers is one potential target, league sources told The Athletic. But the closer everyone gets to camps opening, the more reluctant teams are to trade away a catcher. Victor Caratini, who has never started more than 87 games in a season at catcher, is still on the free-agent market and could wait until Realmuto decides to pick his own destination.
Jeffers is an interesting name to consider as an alternative, though as Gelb notes, something may have to happen there relatively soon, because even as a team without realistic playoff aspirations in 2026, the Twins need some certainty on their catching situation as Spring Training approaches.
The 28-year-old has hit .239 with a .741 OPS in six years with the Twins. A right-handed hitter, Jeffers has fared much better against lefties (.848 OPS) than righties (.694) in his career. While he would likely get the bulk of starts if acquired by the Phillies, the switch-hitting Marchán would almost certainly see an uptick in his starts against right-handed pitchers if he was the No. 2 to Jeffers, as opposed to Realmuto.
Of course, the Twins aren't just going to give away Jeffers, who has one remaining year of arbitration before being eligible to become a free agent following the 2026 season. After trading both Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran to the Phillies last July, Minnesota is very familiar with Philadelphia's farm system.
Re-signing Realmuto obviously wouldn't require giving up any prospect capital, though he almost certainly would be a multi-year commitment at $12 million or more. Jeffers is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $6.6 in arbitration in 2026.
Jeffers, though, does not have the established relationship with Phillies pitchers that Realmuto has. It's true that Realmuto's defensive metrics have declined recently, as he went from posting 11 defensive runs saved and a 15 fielding run value in his most recent Gold Glove season of 2022 to minus-two DRS and minus-7 FRV in 2025. Jeffers, though, posted minus-10 DRS and minus-5 FRV in 2025, so he wouldn't be an upgrade behind the plate even if Realmuto isn't who he once was.
