Minnesota Twins Christian Vazquez Takes $30M Deal

The Minnesota Twins are in agreement with free agent catcher Christian Vazquez on a three-year, $30 million deal, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Vazquez, 32, was sought by a handful of teams after compiling a .714 OPS last season split between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. In 2022, Twins catchers hit just .197 with a .630 OPS. Vazquez also ranked fourth among catchers in defensive runs saved last year.

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The deal came together after an earlier trade saw two catchers change teams as Oakland Athletics All-Star Sean Murphy was sent to Atlanta, while the Braves shipped William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Vazquez was considered one of the better free-agent catchers on the market after Willson Contreras. The elder Contreras brother signed a five-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals last week.

The Twins finished third in the AL Central after experiencing an injury-plagued year though their starter at catcher, Gary Sanchez played in 128 games, including 80 at catcher. He hit just .205 with a .659 OPS. Ryan Jeffers started 56 games behind the plate but didn't fare much better in the batter's box, hitting just .208.

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