11:47am: The twins have now announced all the moves. That’s right Garrett Acton moved to IL for 60 days to make room for Jackson’s roster. Acton has been out since late April with a shoulder problem, and will now be ruled out for late June at the earliest.
11:20am: It’s shaping up to be quite a day for the twins – and not in a good way. Not only did the Twins pick the former No. 1 and high probability Royce Lewis in Triple-A, they’ll also lose their first long-term catcher. Ryan Jeffers was diagnosed with a broken hamate in his left wrist, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Jeffers broke his hamstring on a foul ball in the eighth inning last night and pointed to the trainers a few pitches later. He came out in the middle of the bat. The Twins will choose the contract to hold the journeyman Alex Jackson instead of Jeffers, according to Aaron Gleeman. Victor Caratini will likely carry the starting job behind the plate.
A devastating injury to Jeffers, a free agent at the end of the season, and to the Twins. Jeffers was not only one of the Twins’ best hitters in 2026 but one of the most productive players in the game. He is hitting .295/.408/.541 with seven homers and as many walks as strikeouts (15.6% in singles). Jeffers’ 165 wRC+ (which indicates that he was 65% better than the league hitter) ranked seventh among the 186 major leaguers with at least 140 plate appearances in 2026.
Jeffers, 29 next month, has been one of baseball’s best catchers for several seasons now. Dating back to 2023, he sports a .258/.346/.445 batting line with 51 homers and 70 doubles in 1411 plate appearances. Hitting was once a problem for him, but he has lowered his strikeout rate in three straight seasons. Jeffers was off the grid last year, hitting just nine homers, but he slugged 35 homers in 800 plate trips from 2023-24 and was on pace for 20-plus again in 2026. This year’s ISO is .246 (slugging minus-high+0 for ISO2 of previous ISO 2 rate would be his third+ batting average). the seasons.
The Twins didn’t provide a timetable, but hamate fractures typically sideline players for about four to five weeks. They usually require a small surgical procedure to remove the “hook” from the end of the bone. However, it goes without saying that the four-week timetable is far from certain. Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor and Andrew Vaughn have all taken that long (give or take a few days) to return from their hamstring fractures this season, but Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday broke his hamstring in mid-February and just returned yesterday after several setbacks. The best-case scenario would see Jeffers return in mid-June, but that will depend on how the surgery and the first few weeks of rehab play out.
In his place, Caratini will likely move into a regular holding role. The former Cubs, Brewers and Astros backstop signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the Twins as a free agent this winter. That contract set up Caratini to serve as Jeffers’ backup while he reunited at first base with the designated hitter. He was coming off a nice three-year run between Milwaukee (2023) and Houston (2024-25), where he slashed .262/.328/.400. That’s five percent better than league average, with a wRC+ rating, and about 17% better than the average catcher.
Things haven’t been going well for Caratini hitting so far in Minnesota. He appeared in 34 games and made 127 plate appearances but posted a poor .192/.299/.231 batting line. Perhaps consistent playing time at one position will help his bat pick up.
Caratini is walking at an 8.7% clip with an 18.9% strikeout rate that’s nearly four points below the league average, so it’s not as if his approach at the plate has completely evaporated. His contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone is over 95.7%. His 36.5% strikeout rate is a career low, but his average exit velocity of 88.8 mph is in line with last year’s mark of 88.7 mph. Caratini, despite a sharp 22.4% line drive rate, is hitting just .226 on balls in play. Statcast feels he was one of the luckiest hitters in the game, looking at his “expected” batting average at .247 and his “expected” slugging percentage at .363.
Jackson, 30, has his regular season in St. Paul. For him, that means good defense and power with low low marks and a lot of strikes. He’s hitting .239/.295/.511 with seven homers in 95 Triple-A games, but has struck out about 33% of the time he’s set foot in the batter’s box.
The Twins acquired Jackson in a deal with the Orioles, sending minor leaguer Payton Eeles away in the deal. At the time, Jackson was considered a backup to Jeffers. The Twins were facing some ownership uncertainty and didn’t know what kind of resources – if any – they would have to spend in free agency. Once they announced three new signings and got the green light for some free agent money, Caratini was brought in on his two-year contract. Jackson was waived in spring training and stuck as a depth piece. He is being paid $1.35MM this year and will now find himself in the backup role he originally envisioned – just after a different catcher.
Acton, 27, was acquired from the Marlins in an April trade that sent minor leaguer Logan Whitaker to Miami. Previously, he was appointed to be given the job by Fish. Acton threw 6 2/3 solid innings at Minnesota before hitting the injured list. He still has just 13 1/3 major league innings to his credit, but Acton has big strikeout numbers in his minor league career and enjoyed a strong season with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate last year when he returned from a yearlong injury: 3.68 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate, 11.4% walk rate in 58 2/3 innings.
The Twins have yet to say how long they expect Acton to be out. Assuming his injury is not season-ending in nature, there should be plenty of opportunity for him in a patchwork bullpen that has been one of the worst in Major League Baseball through the first eight weeks of the season.
