The Twins have crossed one item off their shopping list before next week's winter meetings in San Diego.
They have a backup catcher.
Alex Avila has agreed to a one-year, $4.25 million deal to join the Twins and back up emerging starter Mitch Garver. The deal will be official once a physical exam is completed.
Avila will give the Twins a capable catcher off the bench who has some power, strikes out a lot — but who doesn't in today's game? — and can control the running game. Avila, the son of Detroit General Manager Al Avila, is very familiar with how business is done in the AL Central, having spent seven-plus seasons with the Tigers and two with the White Sox. He spent the past two seasons with Arizona.
He will assume a backup role as Garver handles the majority of catching duties. Garver belted 31 homers and drove in 67 runs in 93 games last season while batting .273 with a .995 on base-plus-slugging percentage. Garver started 2019 in a platoon with lefthanded-hitting Jason Castro, who played in 79 games, but Garver hit 19 of his home runs off righthanded pitchers and emerged as an everyday option.
Castro, who is a good defensive catcher, is expected to land a starting job elsewhere. Willians Astudillo also can catch, but if he makes the team he again likely would serve in a jack-of-all-trades role. MLB teams can carry 26 players in 2020.
Avila, who will be 33 on Jan. 29, struck out 33.8% of his plate appearances last season and 29.1% for his career, which is a lot. He will give the Twins a strong presence behind the plate when it comes to handling the running game. He has thrown out 30% of baserunners attempting to steal in his career and nabbed 11 of 21 base stealers last season.
Avila had 16 home runs and hit .184 in 143 games for the Diamondbacks over the past two seasons. He signed with the Tigers after they drafted him in the fifth round in 2008 out of the University of Alabama, when his father was an assistant GM.
