Christian Vázquez DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

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.