MINNEAPOLIS -- On most teams, an injury to the starting catcher would mean more playing time for his backup. That hasn't been the case in Minnesota, where the club promoted top catching prospect Ryan Jeffers for the first time and immediately installed him as the everyday backstop when Mitch Garver hit the injured list with an intercostal strain.

Alex Avila is more than happy to stay in his backup role, and even happier to see Jeffers experience some early success in the big leagues.

"I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, a lot of satisfaction when they look to me for advice and I’m able to help them and watch them succeed," Avila said. "That was one of the biggest thrills, watching Ryan go up there and get a base hit and RBI in his first at-bat, catch really well. ... It’s kind of like an extension while they’re out there on the field. A part of me feels that same success."

Avila knows his days as an everyday catcher are behind him. When the Twins signed the 33-year-old to a one-year deal during the offseason, he knew it could at some point be a continuation of the mentor role he had in Arizona over the past two seasons, with Jeffers knocking on the door of the Majors and expected to see his first big league action sometime in 2020.

"I think my body was telling me that it was time," Avila said. "It was a little easier to adjust mentally in that aspect. As you get older, you understand that you just can’t do things the same way you could physically, and yes, there are mental adjustments along with the physical adjustments, but that’s just the nature of it."

That time has indeed come in Minnesota, and the Twins haven't shied away from using their prized prospect, as Jeffers started Thursday and Friday, appeared as a defensive replacement on Saturday and started again on Sunday.

All the while, Jeffers has more than taken advantage of the opportunity to pick the brain of Avila, a 12-year veteran, son of the Tigers' general manager and participant in five playoff runs. Jeffers was a physics major at UNC Wilmington, after all -- curiosity is in his blood.

"He doesn’t stop asking me questions," Avila said with a laugh. "He’s kind of annoying sometimes."

Avila remembered getting called up to the Tigers as a rookie in 2009 and being one of few youngsters, alongside a 20-year-old Rick Porcello, in a veteran clubhouse mired in a divisional chase that ended in that legendary Game 163 win by the Twins at the Metrodome. He remembered some veterans understanding that the rookies' easy transition to the Majors helped the team's success.

So, when the 23-year-old Jeffers approaches Avila before a game asking about game planning or pitch calling in the Majors, Avila will always be there to help.

"He has a real appreciation for the beauty and the emotional part of the game and observing other people reach milestones that he's already reached," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He knows what that feels like and how great it is on an individual level and on a team level, and I think he gets some real satisfaction for Ryan. I think that makes him feel really good inside."

Why no Duran or Chalmers?
Sunday afternoon marked the Twins' fourth bullpen game of this season due to attrition around the starting rotation and considerations of rest, with Matt Wisler opening for the second time following two opens from Tyler Clippard. Why have the Twins not simply called up one of their top starting prospects, Jhoan Duran or Dakota Chalmers, from the alternate training site?

According to Baldelli, they might simply not be ready.

"It’s a player-development discussion maybe more than anything else," Baldelli said. "I think they’re still working on some specific things that they want to be able to do when they come over here -- and feel like they’re on the top of their game when they come over here and pitch in the big leagues and come and perform. We want them to be completely prepared to do that when the time comes."

Duran, the No. 5 prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline, and Chalmers, ranked No. 24, were added to the 40-man roster during the offseason to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft and have been working as starters in St. Paul, Minn., as part of the player pool in this unusual season.

They were seen as close to impacting the Majors, but Duran has only pitched seven games at the Double-A level and Chalmers only made five starts at Class A Advanced. Chalmers made a playoff start for Double-A Pensacola, but he hasn't pitched above the Class A level during the regular season.

There are other roster considerations, too. Calling up a prospect for a spot start would subject not only him, but also the player optioned to make room, to the 10-day cool-down period -- away from the active roster that is required -- before they could be recalled, giving the Twins two fewer length options for more than a week. That means any opportunities for either Duran or Chalmers would likely need to be long-term openings.

In addition, Minnesota is currently running an 11-man bullpen, leaving many fresh options, and neither Wisler nor possible bulk man Devin Smeltzer has pitched since the last bullpen game on Monday, meaning the Twins aren't even in need of additional arms in any case.