Why Yankees are perfect trade fit for Twins' Ryan Jeffers

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Why Yankees are perfect trade fit for Twins' Ryan Jeffers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It's not easy for a catcher to switch teams mid-season.

They have to get adjusted to a whole new pitching staff and understand what the coaching staff wants in certain scenarios.

Pitch arsenal and pitch selection are the key for catchers who are either brought up from Triple-A or traded from one club to the next.

The New York Yankees could be in the market for a right-handed hitting backstop at the deadline, and The Athletic's Chris Kirschner noted Ryan Jeffers from the Minnesota Twins as someone the AL East club could have interest in.

Jeffers has a previous relationship with a member of the Yankees' coaching staff, making a potential transition a little more seamless.

"The Yankees’ interest in Jeffers would be logical," Kirschner wrote. "Additionally, [Tanner] Swanson, the Twins’ catching coordinator from 2017 to 2019, played a major role in Minnesota’s decision to take Jeffers out of UNC Wilmington in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft."

Currently, Swanson is the director of catching for the Yankees.

"The pre-existing relationship between Jeffers and Swanson could ease the challenges of adding an external catcher in the middle of the season," Kirschner added. "So much behind-the-scenes work is required of the position."

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The Yankees have received well below league-average offensive production from Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra, and Ali Sanchez's tenure with the team is too small a sample size to make any determinations.

Jeffers, who has been on the injured list for over a month while recovering from a fractured hamate bone, hit .295/.408/.541 with seven home runs and a .949 OPS before being sidelined.

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