Twins' Christian Vazquez: Has surgery for shoulder infection
Rotowire
Vazquez underwent surgery due to remove an infection from his left shoulder and will remain at his home in Florida for about two more weeks, MLB.com reports. He will be on a course of antibiotics for three weeks.
The Twins haven't ruled out Vazquez from returning this season, but that seems like a long shot given his treatment schedule and with the Twins out of the playoff hunt.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Heads to IL
Rotowire
The Twins placed Vazquez on the 10-day injured list Friday due to a left shoulder infection.
The issue is with his non-throwing shoulder, but it will still require a stint on the injured list. The 34-year-old Vazquez will be eligible to return for the start of a three-game homestand against the Athletics which begins Aug. 19. Until then, Jhonny Pereda and Mickey Gasper will provide catching depth behind Ryan Jeffers.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Filling in for Jeffers
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Vazquez will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Red Sox.
Vazquez will draw a third consecutive start behind the dish, but he'll likely see his playing time scaled back once top backstop Ryan Jeffers (personal) returns from the paternity list. The 34-year-old Vazquez has struggled to get much going offensively in 2025; he'll enter Monday's contest with a .527 OPS, the lowest mark of his 11-year big-league career.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Drives in three Tuesday
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Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-7 win over the Dodgers.
Vazquez produced a two-run double in the second inning and added an RBI single in the sixth. The catcher continues to see a near-even split of playing time behind the dish with Ryan Jeffers. Vazquez is 8-for-29 (.276) in July, lifting his slash line for the year to .190/.254/.272 with two home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs scored and no stolen bases over 173 plate appearances.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Brings home two runs
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Vazquez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Sunday's 6-3 win over Toronto.
Vazquez put Minnesota on the board with a fielder's choice RBI in the second, and he gave the Twins the lead in the fourth with a solo homer off Bowden Francis. It was Vazquez's second home run of the season, and the veteran is slashing .210/.279/.330 with six doubles and nine RBI across 111 plate appearances while serving as the backup catcher to Ryan Jeffers.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Back on bench Monday
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Vazquez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
Due in large part to injuries decimating the Twins' depth in recent days, Vazquez had started at catcher in each of the last three games, while top backstop Ryan Jeffers served as the team's designated hitter in all of those contests. However, with Harrison Bader returning from a groin injury Saturday and with Willi Castro (knee) back in the lineup Monday after a two-game absence, Vazquez will retreat to the bench. Vazquez's playing time could be more sporadic moving forward while Jeffers likely sees most of his starts behind the dish and the Twins instead opting to rotate a number of players at the DH spot.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Pops first homer of 2025
Rotowire
Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Orioles.
The veteran backstop took Dean Kremer deep in the fourth inning, giving Vazquez his first long ball of the year. He's added little offense in general to begin the campaign -- Vazquez's .193/.277/.316 slash line through 57 plate appearances has him on pace to record a sub-.600 OPS for the third straight year.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Heading for reduced role
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Manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday that Ryan Jeffers will take on a larger role, which will result in fewer starts for Vazquez, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
The catching duo has split playing time fairly evenly across the past two seasons, and Jeffers has made 14 starts to Vazquez's 11 early in 2025. The Twins are changing their strategy behind the plate, however, with Vazquez's career .581 OPS with the club finally catching up to him. The veteran backstop still brings plenty of defensive value and is a good fit as a backup catcher, but it should be Jeffers that receives the lion's share of the starts from now on.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Breaks out of slump
Rotowire
Vazquez went 2-for-3 with two doubles in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the White Sox.
Vazquez entered the game hitting just .100/.152/.167 and was losing playing time, so this was a much needed performance. Manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minnesota Star Tribune Thursday that Ryan Jeffers will get more playing time with Vazquez's slow start.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Vazquez (hand) will start at catcher and bat eighth Saturday against Atlanta.
Vazquez has been held out of action ever since suffering a hand injury during Monday's contest, but a few days of rest has him feeling well enough to return behind the dish Saturday. The 34-year-old backstop is off to a poor start to the year, slashing .115/.172/.192 over his first 29 plate appearances.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Avoids fracture
Rotowire
X-rays on Vazquez's right hand came back negative Monday, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Vazquez suffered an injury to his right hand during Monday's game against the Mets after being hit by a foul tip, but he appears to have avoided a serious injury. The club will likely re-evaluate the backstop Tuesday morning to determine his availability moving forward.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Departs early with injury
Rotowire
Vazquez exited Monday's game against the Mets after appearing to injure his right hand on a foul tip, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Vazquez is likely headed for X-rays to determine the extent of the injury. Mickey Gasper took over behind the dish, and it would be up to Ryan Jeffers and Gasper to cover the catching duties if Vazquez is forced to miss additional time.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Back on bench Thursday
Rotowire
Vazquez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.
In what was a familiar trend last season, Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers have alternated turns behind the plate through Minnesota's first seven games of 2025. While Vazquez should be in line for more work than most No. 2 backstops around the league, he's still unlikely to see a high enough volume of plate appearances to warrant intrigue in fantasy outside of AL-only leagues or deeper mixed leagues that start two catchers.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Set to reprise catcher role
Rotowire
Vazquez went 1-for-3 in Saturday's loss to the Red Sox and is hitting 2-for-8 in his first three spring games.
Vazquez was the subject of trade rumors in the offseason as the Twins were thought to want to offload the $10 million for the final year of his contract. However, he looks set to stay on the roster and repeat sharing catching duties fairly equally with Ryan Jeffers. Vazquez continues to slip at the plate as he had a career-worst .575 OPS and .248 OBP last season, but he is still seen as a strong defender (ninth in baseball with seven Defensive Runs Saved).
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