Christian Vázquez Fantasy Stats

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez (shoulder) has undergone surgery to remove an infection from his left shoulder, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports. The issue forced Vazquez to the 10-day injured list on Aug. 6, and though the Twins haven't ruled out a return this year, Vazquez is not close to starting baseball activities, according to Leach. While the 35-year-old typically hasn't posed much of a threat with the bat, this has likely been the worst offensive season of his career. Vazquez has hit just .174/.251/.247 with two homers, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 199 plate appearances.

The Minnesota Twins announced on Friday that they placed catcher Christian Vazquez (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list with a left-shoulder infection and recalled catcher Jhonny Pereda from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. It's unclear if Vazquez will be able to return in minimal time, but even if he does, the 34-year-old veteran backstop really isn't relevant at all in fantasy leagues. Ryan Jeffers has taken over the bulk of the playing time in Minnesota this year, and Vazquez was never much of an offensive talent to begin with. The Twins also have Mickey Gasper on the active roster, so Pereda will be the team's third catcher with Vazquez on the shelf. Vazquez has hit an ugly .174 (31-for-178) on the season with two homers, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored in a limited role in Minnesota.

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez (hand) is rejoining the starting nine on Saturday afternoon when the Twins continue a series against the Atlanta Braves. The veteran catcher has been kept sidelined through most of the week since suffering this injury on Monday. However, Vazquez was able to avoid a stint on the injured list. He will catch for Minnesota right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson and bat in the eight-hole. Through his first 11 games of the regular season, Vazquez has posted an underwhelming .115/.172/.192 slash line with two doubles. He has yet to go deep. Despite his poor production at the plate, Vazquez has posted a stellar 16.7 percent whiff rate and a 17.2 percent strikeout rate. Vazquez is not worth targeting in DFS this afternoon, facing Atlanta southpaw Chris Sale.

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez will retreat to the bench for Thursday's contest against the visiting Houston Astros at Target Field. Ryan Jeffers will do the catching for right-hander Joe Ryan and will bat eighth against right-hander Hunter Brown. Vazquez and Jeffers continue to alternate playing time behind the dish for the Twins early on in 2025, which makes the 34-year-old veteran unattractive to fantasy managers outside of two-catcher or AL-only leagues. The Puerto Rican backstop has played in three games so far and is hitless in his 10 plate appearances with no walks and a strikeout. Meanwhile, Jeffers has gone 4-for-15 with an RBI, run scored, two walks and two strikeouts in four games. Jeffers offers slightly more offensive upside, but neither catcher should excite fantasy managers all that much. Jeffers has two hits in 10 career at-bats versus Brown.

According to Dan Hayes and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres have engaged in trade discussions around catcher Christian Vazquez. The Padres do not have a proven option behind Luis Campusano on their depth chart. Earlier this offseason, the Twins acquired Diego Cartaya and Mickey Gasper to bolster their catching room. They also have Ryan Jeffers, who is slated to be the No.1 option again this offseason, leaving Vazquez potentially without a spot on the roster. The Twins have also shown interest in acquiring San Deigo right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease but would have to add several assets alongside Vazquez to acquire him. Last summer, Vazquez posted a .221/.248/.327 line with seven home runs and three stolen bases. The veteran backstop would be deployed as a reliable No.2 option behind Campusano but would only carry value in deeper NL-only formats if acquired by San Diego.

The Minnesota Twins activated outfielder Manuel Margot (groin) from the 10-day injured list and catcher Christian Vazquez from the paternity list on Wednesday and optioned infielder Michael Helman and catcher Jair Camargo to the minors in corresponding moves. Vazquez will do the catching and bat ninth on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz at Target Field. It's a promising matchup for Vazquez and the Twins, but the 34-year-old Puerto Rican backstop has very little fantasy upside in the nine-hole. He's hitting .228 (60-for-263) on the year with seven homers and 27 RBI. Vazquez will serve as Ryan Jeffers' backup now that he's back. Margot is recovered from a mild right-groin strain and will return to reserve outfield duties that fantasy managers can ignore in mixed formats.

Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said on Saturday that he expects catchers Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez to split playing time close to evenly this year. The Twins signed Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million deal last winter, but the 33-year-old veteran had the worst season of his career, hitting .223 (73-for-327) with six homers and 32 RBI, while Jeffers batted .276 (79-for-286) with a career-high-tying 14 homers and 43 RBI. As a result, the 26-year-old Jeffers became the team's starting catcher for the postseason. Vazquez worked hard on his swing and body this offseason, but Jeffers earned more playing time with a strong second half in 2023. At this point, the younger Jeffers has more offensive upside, but with an even timeshare expected, neither catcher is all that attractive for two-catcher leagues in fantasy.

Minnesota Twins veteran catcher Christian Vazquez has improved bat speed and is more fit in spring training this year as he looks to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season after signing a three-year, $30 million deal with the team in December of 2022. Ryan Jeffers took over the lead duties behind the dish over Vazquez later in the year when Vazquez slumped and finished with a .598 OPS in the worst season of his career. The 33-year-old struck out more than ever last year and had the second-lowest slugging percentage of his career. Vazquez got a late start to his offseason workouts last year after playing in the World Series in 2022 with the Astros, and he thinks the lack of preparation affected him in his first year in Minnesota. A bounce-back is possible, but it could be more difficult with Vazquez expected to split time evenly with Jeffers in 2024.

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Game 2 of the wild-card series on Wednesday against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. Instead, Ryan Jeffers will catch right-hander Sonny Gray and bat eighth against Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios. Jeffers has started the first two games of the postseason behind the plate for the Twins and he went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in the Game 1 victory, which snapped an 18-game playoff losing streak for the Twins, dating back to 2004. Jeffers will be looking to turn things around against Berrios, as he's gone 0-for-5 against him in his career to this point with four strikeouts.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Jose Miranda and catcher Christian Vazquez are getting the day off on Wednesday versus the visiting Kansas City Royals. Donovan Solano is starting at the hot corner and batting sixth, while Ryan Jeffers will do the catching and hit in the nine-hole against Royals right-hander Alec Marsh. Miranda recently returned from the minors with Royce Lewis (oblique) going on the injured list, but he's gone hitless in seven at-bats in three games. The 25-year-old has disappointed so far in 38 games for the Twins this year, hitting .209 (29-for-139) with three homers and 13 RBI. Vazquez also has done very little offensively in his first year in Minnesota, hitting .217 (38-for-175) with one homer and 17 RBI in 57 games.