Minneapolis – The Minnesota Twins will be down their starting catcher for the next 6-to-8 weeks, because Ryan Jeffers will be undergoing surgery for a broken hamate bone.
On Monday night, Jeffers, 28, exited in the eighth inning of Minnesota’s 6-3 win over the Houston Astros after he swung at the first pitch of his at-bat. He stayed in for two more, then called the trainer over to examine him.
“Yeah, I was kind of going through the mental battle of whether I could swing or not, and then yeah, made the decision,” Jeffers said after Monday night’s game.
The initial diagnosis postgame Monday on Ryan Jeffers was a left wrist sprain, but an MRI examination on Tuesday morning revealed he had a fractured hamate bone. Twins GM Jeremy Zoll shared he would have surgery on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles with Dr. Steven Shin.
“It’s always a concern when you see the way the play went down, and the situation didn’t leave awesome feelings for anyone,” Twins GM Jeremy Zoll said in a Tuesday afternoon press conference. “Obviously, we were hoping for the best but kind of mentally prepared for this scenario here and got that information this morning after he went for additional imaging.”
Through 37 games this season, Jeffers had put up a .295/.408/.541 slash line with seven home runs, 26 RBI, 15.6% walk and strikeout rate. He had been playing at an All-Star caliber level until he went down with the injury Monday night. Now, with the IL stint project to last until the All-Star Break, the Twins will have a massive hole in their lineup without their starting catcher.
“I don’t think we can replace the production,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. “He’s been one of our most productive hitters. Probably our second-most productive hitter behind Buck. He and A-Mar (Austin Martin) right there. I think right now, we just have to fill the gap.”
“It’s definitely a hole to fill,” echoed Zoll. “It would definitely be great to get Byron back in the lineup tonight to help offset that, but you know, other guys are gonna need to step up, and we have plenty of guys who are exceeding expectations right now, and some guys that we’re confident are gonna get it going more.”
Even without Ryan Jeffers for the foreseeable future, the Twins are still confident with the catching duo they’ll be rolling out for the time being in Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson. Caratini has been splitting time between first base and catcher over 34 games this season. He has a .192/.299/.231 slash line with one home run, 15 RBI, an 8.7% walk rate, and 18.9% strikeout rate on the year.
Jackson has played in 24 games with the St. Paul Saints this season. He’s shown plenty of power with seven home runs and 15 RBI over 95 plate appearances this year, owns a .239/.295/.511 slash line, but also has a 32.6% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. While he doesn’t like the situation that allowed for his return to the majors, he’s ready to help bolster the catching position as needed until Jeffers returns.
“It always sucks when a teammate goes down,” Jackson said before Tuesday’s game. “You never want to see that, but at the same time, I have a job. I think that I’m going to come up here and help the pitchers execute their plans. Talking with RJ, talking with Vic, using them to help me call games, work with the pitchers, get to know them. It’s a group effort. You’ve got to be ready to go.”
While Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson haven’t had the same offensive value as Ryan Jeffers this season, Jackson isn’t over-evaluating what he can do at the plate. Instead, he’s focusing on the simple approach of his role to keep this team competitive as they hold an 8-8 record through May 19.
“I think the biggest thing is simplicity,” he said. “I’m trying to keep things simple. I’m not trying to do too much. Let the game come to you and just have fun. That’s been a big thing. I’m not trying to press too much and just enjoying myself. Good things happen if you do that.”
Acton to 60-day IL to make room for Jackson
The Twins needed to clear a 40-man spot to add Alex Jackson to the roster. In doing so, the Twins extended Garrett Acton’s IL stint from 15-day to 60-day.
Zoll shared that the Twins were already planning to move Acton to the 60-day IL when a 40-man move was needed, as he had a strain in his right shoulder subscapula that required more time to heal.
“Working through all the different considerations, it’s one of those that if you push too soon on, you’re at risk of reinjury and creating a much longer timeline,” said Zoll. “So as we were mapping out how long he needed to be down for, it’s kind of naturally mapping for the 60-day.”
