Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers out long term with a broken wrist

Ryan Jeffers (X)

According to Ari Koslow of fantasypros.com on Tuesday, Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers of Raleigh, North Carolina will miss six to eight weeks with a broken left wrist. Jeffers fractured his hamate and needs surgery to repair the ailment.

Jeffers broke his wrist while hitting a foul ball on Monday in a 6-3 Twins win over the Houston Astros at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He left the game in the eighth inning, and was replaced by Victor Caratini of Coamo, Puerto Rico.

Anyway you look at it, this was a significant loss for the Twins franchise. Jeffers is batting .295 this season with seven home runs and 26 runs batted in. During 37 games, 122 at bats, and 148 plate appearances, he has scored 26 runs, and had 36 hits, seven doubles, one triple, one stolen base, 23 walks, 66 total bases, one sacrifice fly, an on base percentage of .408 and a slugging percentage of .541. The stolen base came in an 11-4 Twins win over the Seattle Mariners on April 27.

It has been a struggle this season for Caratini. In 111 at bats, he only has 22 hits, and is only batting .198, which is two points below the Mendoza Line. However, Caratini does lead the Majors with five sacrifice flies, which is tied with Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Twins are currently at 23 wins and 27 losses. Despite being four games below the .500 mark, Minnesota is still in the hunt for a playoff spot. They are one game and a half back of the Texas Rangers for the final wildcard spot in the American League.