Pirates Could Be Landing Spot for Twins Catcher
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to finally compete this season and the trade deadline will give them opportunities to do that.
One player that the Pirates might go after is Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, with Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN naming the Pirates as a trade destination.
The Pirates are currently 37-37, .500 through 74 games, and are still in the race for a National League Wild Card spot, which sees them as a "buyer," rather than traditionally as a "seller."
If they can maintain or better that record by the trade deadline on Aug. 3, then Jeffers makes sense for the Pirates for a few different reasons.
Why the Pirates Would Benefit From Adding Jeffers
Jeffers had a great season at the plate, before going on the 10-day injured list on May 19 with a left hamate bone fracture.
He slashed .295/.408/.541 for an OPS of .949, with 36 hits in 122 at-bats, seven doubles, seven home runs, 26 RBI and 23 walks to 23 strikeouts for the Twins.
The Pirates catchers haven't hit consistently well this season and Jeffers would give them exactly what they're looking for at the position.
Jeffers is also a veteran and has started 413 games and played 456 games at catcher during his time with the Twins and is solid from behind the plate, in the 69th percentile for framing.
He is also a right-handed bat, something the Pirates could use with their best hitters mostly from batting from the left-side.
Adding a veteran catcher and right-handed power bat could play a big role in the Pirates making the postseason and then going even deeper if they achieve the first goal.
Would the Pirates Make This Trade?
Pittsburgh simply hasn't gotten enough offensive production from their main catchers in Henry Davis and Joey Bart in 2026.
Davis is hitting worse than he did last year, slashing .135/.236/.278 for an OPS of .514 in 46 games, with only 17 hits in 126 at-bats, three doubles, five home runs, 17 RBI and 14 walks to 31 strikeouts.
He also has just one hit in June in 11 at-bats and seven hits total since the start of May, with five of those as home runs.
Joey Bart struggled early on in the season from the plate, before hitting well to start May and then going on the 10-day injured list on May 12 with a left foot infection.
He got his slash line up to .259/.290/.379 for an OPS of .670 and is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Pirates real dilemma is how they value Endy Rodríguez and how important he's been since coming up from the minors when Bart went on the injured list.
Rodríguez has excelled from the plate, slashing .267/.413/.467 for an OPS of .880 in 23 games, with 16 hits in 60 at-bats, 10 runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and 15 walks to 17 strikeouts.
The Pirates might not end up going with Jeffers if Rodríguez continues hitting the way he does, but there is also concern with Rodríguez, who hasn't played a full season at the major league level and missed most of the past two seasons with right elbow surgeries.
Jeffers is only under contract until the end of the season before becoming a free agent, so the Pirates, especially if they don't think they're getting enough from the catchers outside of Rodríguez, might just go after him at the trade deadline.
The Twins are five games below .500 right now and if they don't get better by the deadline, the Pirates could add a quality catcher, without parting with the best of the farm system.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.