Ryan Jeffers To Decline Qualifying Offer

Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers is declining the qualifying offer, reports Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune. Minnesota’s front office certainly expected as much, and they have ongoing interest in bringing Jeffers back on a multi-year deal. MLBTR predicted Jeffers to receive a four-year, $75MM contract in ranking him ninth on our Top 50 Free Agents list. That came with the assumption that Jeffers would reject the QO, as he’s the clear #1 option in the catching class. The righty hitter is coming off a .256/.353/.461 slash with 14 homers and career-best strikeout and walk numbers. Although he was limited to 368 plate appearances by a hamate fracture, Jeffers has a four-year track record of strong offense behind the dish (.254/.342/.440 in more than 1600 plate appearances). Jeffers is entering his age-30 season. He’s a passable but hardly elite defender who could end up at first base toward the end of a three- or four-year contract. Jeffers has the bat to profile there and has a particularly strong career track record versus left-handed pitching. He’s fairly similar statistically to Willson Contreras when he commanded a five-year, $87.5MM deal from St. Louis. Jeffers doesn’t have the same pedigree — Contreras was a three-time All-Star who’d been the primary catcher on a World Series team — but should do well on the open market. Minnesota only has one catcher on their 40-man roster. Victor Caratini has been more of a high-end backup than a regular over the course of his career. The Twins have a couple touted catching prospects in the pipeline — Eduardo Tait and 2026 third overall pick Vahn Lackey — that could dissuade them from making a long-term investment behind the plate. They’ll obviously need someone to pair with Caratini, though, and GM Jeremy Zoll acknowledged to Nightengale that they’ll see how things progress in free agency. Jeffers clearly remains their first priority. Zoll indicated they’d be ready to pivot down to lower-tier options if Jeffers walks. “It’s pretty easy to be candid and truthful with various agents that are representing other catchers of we’re working through RJ,” Zoll said. “We don’t know how it’s going to go. In turn, if it doesn’t go our way, we’re going to need another catcher, so want to be in touch on that.” Minnesota would receive a compensatory pick after the first round if Jeffers signs elsewhere for at least $50MM. If he signs for less than $50MM, the compensation would fall to between Competitive Balance Round B and the start of the third round (roughly 75th overall). View Comments (7)