Twins’ Ryan Jeffers says he can handle heat of increased catching duty

NEW YORK ‐ When the sweat finally stopped pouring down his face Monday night, Ryan Jeffers made it clear he believes he can take the heat of playing every day, figuratively and literally.

“I’ve always been happy to play as much as possible,” Jeffers said. “I’ve worked hard to make sure my body can handle whatever load they give me.”

It figures to be a bigger load than ever before. Christian Vázquez, Jeffers’ 50/50 partner behind the plate over the past three seasons, was hospitalized over the weekend with an infection in his left shoulder that required a surgical procedure to treat. Though his condition has improved, the Twins have yet to say when, or even whether, Vázquez might return this season.

By coincidence, the Twins claimed catcher Jhonny Pereda from the Athletics in late July and called him up from St. Paul when Vázquez was hospitalized. But convinced that Mickey Gasper can fill in occasionally, the team returned Pereda to Class AAA on Tuesday in order to activate Matt Wallner from the paternity list.

Gasper, in fact, started Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees behind the plate, with Jeffers serving as designated hitter on a day when the temperature reached 88 degrees in humid New York.

But “Ryan’s going to catch most of the games. When he lines up for needing a day, Mickey will catch,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There’s no formula here. Ryan’s going to get a lot of time behind the plate, and it’ll be a good thing for him, pushing his body.”

Pushing his mind, too, Baldelli added.

Jeffers has never started more than 81 games in a season at catcher, though his DH workload has gradually increased. He entered Tuesday hitting .315 as the designated hitter this season with an .867 OPS, making it more tempting than ever for Baldelli to put him in the lineup on his “days off.”

Which is OK with Jeffers.

“This is my best season at the plate. I’m more comfortable than ever. You look at my numbers, I’m hitting the ball harder and more often than ever,” said Jeffers, whose hard-hit rate, as calculated by MLB Statcast, is at a career-best 44%. His home run power is down a bit — just eight this year, after hitting 21 a year ago — but he has already eclipsed his career high in walks, and after posting a 12-game hitting streak this month, his career high in hits will fall in the next week or so.

But can he handle the August heat?

“If I can handle last weekend” at Target Field, when humidity registered above 90%, Jeffers said, “I can handle anything.”

“He did a good job receiving, and his pitch calling was good. He handled the responsibilities well,” Baldelli said. “I told him after the game he did some good work out there — now you just build upon it. He’s got some experience behind the dish. He’s caught a bunch at Triple-A.”

Wallner returned after being with his wife, Sydnie, for the birth of their daughter Elliotte Bryn on Saturday. On Monday, Baldelli said he was inclined to give new parents a day off when they come off the paternity list because “you don’t know what he’s been doing, what he’s been able to do the last three days. I always go in with the assumption that the answer is, not much. And you probably haven’t slept a ton.”

The decision was made easier when the Yankees started lefthander Carlos Rodón. Kody Clemens played right field.

“We put him through a nice full workout to get his body back into some baseball shape,” Baldelli said. “It’s hard to just step right back out there.”

Has fatherhood changed the 27-year-old Wallner?

∗ The Twins held a players-only team meeting before Tuesday’s game to hear a presentation from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.