Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden may have just handed the Twins a dream scenario.
In a recent The Athletic piece projecting contracts for the top 40 free agents of the 2026-27 offseason, Bowden slotted Ryan Jeffers at No. 32 and came in with a number that stands out: a two-year, $15.5 million deal. He also identified the Twins, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds as Jeffers’ best fits.
For Minnesota, that kind of price tag would be a massive break. If the club really believed Jeffers could be retained for two years at that level, there’d be no reason to hand him the $23.15 million qualifying offer - and plenty of reason to push hard to keep him in a Twins uniform.
That said, Bowden’s forecast feels light for a catcher with Jeffers’ résumé. He’s the top backstop on the board, and a two-year deal at that salary would be a bargain. A more realistic guess is closer to three years and around $45 million.
Bowden did use Minnesota catcher Victor Caratini as one of his salary comparisons, and that’s where the projection starts to look even smaller. Caratini signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Twins last offseason after putting up 2.9 fWAR with the Houston Astros from 2024-25. Jeffers, meanwhile, turned in a 128 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR over 92 games in 2026.
There’s also the roster angle. Caratini appears set to open next year as the starter, with Vahn Lackey waiting in the system to take over in 2028. Caratini’s 2026 season was rough - 0.7 fWAR and a 79 wRC+ in 106 games - but Minnesota’s long-term catching picture makes it difficult to see the team making a serious multi-year commitment to another catcher this winter.
Still, if Bowden’s number somehow turns out to be close, the Twins should absolutely pounce. And if Jeffers and his agent think the market is that soft, he’d have a clear incentive to accept a qualifying offer, since it would top Bowden’s two-year estimate by a wide margin.
More likely, Jeffers winds up with a better deal than Bowden projected. But for Minnesota, even the possibility of bringing back a fan favorite on a short-term pact is enough to keep the conversation interesting.
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Lucenas release came after he spent the 2026 season sidelined and never got back onto the field once he was placed on the 60-day injured list in June. He is the eighth minor leaguer the Twins have let go since September 2025, a small but steady cleanup of organizational depth that often goes unnoticed until a player like Lucena disappears from the ledger without much fanfare. [Read more 🡒]
Rocco Baldellis Next Move Just Got More Interesting
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Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a special assistant, Baldelli has removed himself from the Mariners opening for family reasons, putting the brakes on what looked like a plausible next step. Even so, he is still interested in managing again down the road, so this may be less an ending than a pause in a return that clearly still interests him. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Davis Just Put Kirby Puckett Back In Twins Fans Heads
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The Rays now head into Game 5 at Tropicana Field with the series still alive, and Tampa Bay has not yet announced its starting pitcher. Even with the spotlight shifting toward the next matchup, the broadcast call from Game 4 lingers because it connected a current postseason finish to one of the sports most recognizable traditions, the kind of throwback that reminds fans why October baseball sounds different when the pressure is highest. [Read more 🡒]