With the Twins fading in the playoff race, they might be open for business. The Padres should pounce on the opportunity to trade for their veteran catcher Ryan Jeffers.

It’s trade deadline season. Your favorite websites for your favorite baseball teams are buzzing with possible trade scenarios. It’s part of the excitement of this sport.

The Padres are in an interesting spot. They are too good not to buy and go for the prize, but clearly have deficiencies that, if not addressed, will sink this team entirely. They are one of the teams whose playoff chances seemingly completely hinge on what they do at the trade deadline.

Let’s talk catchers. Even with Martin Maldonado‘s heroics in the Padres’ 4-3 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night, the catcher position has been downright dreadful as a whole in San Diego this season.

The Padres rank 29th in fWAR from their catchers as a group. Only the Washington Nationals are worse in all the league.

Both Elias Diaz (71 wRC+) and Maldonado (58 wRC+) are among the worst hitters in baseball this season. In some cases, catchers who can’t hit very well are still revered for their defensive prowess. However, Diaz ranks just in the 25th percentile for pitch framing, with -2 Defensive Runs Saved, and Maldonado has allowed 31 of 35 base stealers to steal safely, with a 31st percentile pop time.

Catcher is arguably the biggest need on the Padres at the moment, especially one that can hit more towards league average. They don’t need Mike Piazza or Cal Raleigh at backstop to be successful. They simply need average, which is a far cry from what they’ve gotten so far.

The Minnesota Twins are fading fast. They are currently five games under .500, 12.5 games back in the AL Central, and 4.5 games back of the AL Wild Card, with plenty of quality teams ahead of them. In a market that appears scarce of sellers, it might be smart for the Twins to cash in and sell off a few pieces.

Catcher Ryan Jeffers has been with the Twins organization since they drafted him in the second round in 2018. He reached the big leagues in 2020 and has been one of their main catchers ever since. The North Carolina native is coming off of back-to-back seasons of at least 2.1 bWAR and a .730 OPS.

He is the definition of a league average hitter, with a lifetime .738 OPS and 104 OPS+ in over 450 games. That is exactly what the Padres need. Even with his defensive metrics not exactly screaming ‘Gold Glover,’ his bat would provide some much-needed stability to the bottom of the Padres’ lineup. San Diego doesn’t need an All-Star catcher to compete for a World Series this year. They just need one that can handle business with the glove and show any signs of life consistently at the plate.

The Twins could get some value for Jeffers if they were to make him available. He is a very competent veteran catcher who is under contract for one more season after this, as well.

On the Padres’ side, they need answers at catcher beyond just the rest of this season. Ethan Salas is not going to be ready to be the everyday catcher in 2026. He is currently on the shelf for a good chunk of this season with a back injury. Before that, he struggled mightily in Double-A (.544 OPS in 10 games).

Neither Diaz nor Maldonado are signed beyond this season. There is a mutual option for Diaz to return at $7 million. It seems there is virtually no chance the Padres agree to that.

That means, as of now, the only catcher on the Padres set to return in 2026 that has any MLB experience is Luis Campusano. The organization, without saying any words, has said plenty about what they think of Campusano’s future as a catcher. He was demoted in the middle of last season and hasn’t caught in the big leagues since. In fact, he is getting some work at first base in Triple-A.

27-year-old Rodolfo Durán is the main catcher in El Paso aside from Campusano. He isn’t on the 40-man roster and hasn’t broken through to the big leagues after a decade in the minors.

Quite simply, the Padres need to find a solution at catcher for the rest of this season and likely for 2026 as well. That answer appears to be outside the organization at the moment.

Why not Jeffers? He is playing well for a fading team and has plenty of MLB experience under his belt. Jeffers solves several issues for the Padres. He provides an offensive boost to the bottom of the lineup for the playoff push in the second half of 2025, and he answers the question of who will be the team’s catcher in 2026.

Of course, the cost is always the question. The Twins will likely have a high asking price for a capable MLB-level catcher with 1.5 seasons left on his deal. The Padres should be able to do a deal without parting with Salas or Leo De Vries, but it will be a heavy cost otherwise. Jeffers isn’t an All-Star, and he isn’t under team control for a handful of years. That is usually what garners a team relinquishing top prospects.

Given the nature of the Twins’ roster, they may want a piece back that will help them bounce back and contend in 2026, as well.

Let’s build a deal for Jeffers that combines good prospects with a player that the Twins can use now. Perhaps the Padres could use this as a chance to give Campusano a change of scenery as well.

Padres get: C Ryan Jeffers

Twins get: RHP Humberto Cruz (SD #4 prospect), 3B Rosman Verdugo (SD #24), C Luis Campusano

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.