St. Paul – Ryan Jeffers is another step closer to returning to the Minnesota Twins lineup. The seventh-year MLB catcher started a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints this weekend at CHS Field, after missing six weeks on the field due to a broken hamate bone in his left hand.
“Feels really good,” Jeffers said on the status of his hand following Sunday’s 8-3 Saints loss. “It’s been a process; everyone said it’s just a slow build. Everyone’s hand kind of reacts differently, but it feels good to get back into games and just get that competitive juices flowing again.”
Jeffers went 5-for-11 in his first three games with a double and a solo home run off former teammate Simeon Woods Richardson in the lone game he caught. Bailey Ober was on the mound for the Saints on Saturday, also on a rehab assignment recovering from right elbow inflammation.
Over the course of his recovery, Jeffers hasn’t experienced any pain or discomfort in his catching hand, and he was able to resume off-day catching duties with the Twins before his rehab assignment, catching a few of his teammates’ bullpens. The main litmus test on this rehab assignment is how his hand feels after a full game at the plate.
“I think in general, the hand did feel really good,” said Jeffers. “It’s a hard rehab, because you’ll have days where you feel really good and days where you won’t, and you have to make sure you’re not pushing through those bad days because you can set your timeline back even more by pushing through some of the pain.
“So you want to make sure you’re feeling right before you take that next step going into games. We’re there, and it feels good,” Jeffers said.
“He looked good and had good at-bats,” said Saints manager Brian Dinkelman. “I know the first day he said he got a little tired just from the daily swinging and pre-game and in-game stuff like that. Felt good yesterday and today, so good to have him back and back over there soon.”
While the first three games back are a sure sign of a trend in the right direction, there’s no clear indication that Jeffers will rejoin the Twins lineup as soon as Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians.
As Jeffers indicated, he doesn’t want to push himself more than necessary, especially on days that are harder on his hand than others. So if that means an extra few games on rehab before rejoining the Twins, it’s a precaution he’s willing to take.
“The catching is easy,” he said. “I feel like I’ve gotten back into the rhythm of that pretty easily. That’s just more of a volume thing, the thing that’ll be more… be the build is, ‘Okay, let’s see how many ABs do I end up needing just after taking six weeks off.”
Finally Getting Game Action with Walker Jenkins
It’s fairly well known by parts of Twins Territory that Jeffers has spent the past few off-seasons working out with the Twins’ top prospect, Walker Jenkins.
Jenkins grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Jeffers went to college and makes his off-season home. They began working out together the winter before Jenkins was drafted fifth overall by the Twins in 2023, and their bond has grown ever since.
But the one thing they still hadn’t checked off since Jenkins joined the Twins was playing in a game together. They finally crossed that off in Jeffers’ first rehab game on Friday.
“It’s just fun to play with someone you kind of spend a lot time with,” said Jeffers. “And I don’t want to say that I’ve mentored him, but it’s fun to kind of be around him and show him some of the ropes, especially in the off-season. To have some of those conversations about the big league game works.”
“It’s awesome,” said Jenkins. “It’s awesome having him in the dugout, being able to pick on each other a little bit here in the clubhouse. Hopefully we get to play a lot more together.”
Anytime a major-league rehabber shows up in a minor-league clubhouse on a rehab assignment, the players who have yet to reach the majors tend to gravitate towards them for their rehab stint. Not just because the rehabbing player often buys the team meals, especially if the assignment is on the road, but also because of the wealth of experience and knowledge they bring from the majors.
“Yeah, especially some of these guys who have never been in the big leagues, just to see him come in, do his daily routine and go to the cages, what he works on to prepare himself every day,” said Dinkelman. “So hopefully those guys can take a little bit of something from him with what he does on his daily stuff to get himself ready every day.”
“I think it’s great because you kind of see how someone like him, who’s found a lot of success and been in the big leagues for six, seven years. How they stay up there, how they go about their business, how they go about treating the other guys in the clubhouse,” Jenkins said.
“So I think there’s a lot to be said about that. There’s a lot of, ‘I know I’ve talked to you about some of it,’ but there’s a lot that goes into stuff that people don’t get to see. And I think one thing that makes some of those guys better, or what separates them, is just the day-in, day-out work and how they treat others, and that’s a big part of it.”
