The Minnesota Twins didn't wait very long after being knocked out of the 2009 playoffs to begin working on their 2010 team. They made a trade that not only alleviated the surplus of outfielders on their roster but also may have filled the shortstop position for years to come when they sent Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for J.J. Hardy.While that trade could turn out to be a key move for the Twins and their future, it's not the only task the team has on its plate as they prepare for life in a new stadium next season. At the top of the list of things general manager Bill Smith should be working on right now is signing catcher Joe Mauer to a contract extension, and depending on who you ask, Smith may have already started doing just that.
According to a report in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press the Twins began talks with Mauer's agent Ron Shapiro on working out an extension for the possible MVP catcher whose contract is set to expire at the end of the 2010 season. In the article Mauer is quoted as saying that any negotiations that may be going on are "news to me."
Which is why it's not all that surprising that a separate report, this one in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is saying that talks haven't begun between the Twins and Mauer.
So which is it?
In the Star Tribune report, neither Smith or Jerry Bell would confirm that negotiations had begun, but at the same time neither denied that they'd started either. So I think what may be going on here is that the Twins are still trying to figure out what they can offer Mauer that would be sufficient enough to keep him in Minnesota, but at the same time not hinder their ability to further build a team around him.
Which will not be an easy task for a team with a limited payroll like the Twins, though the team is no doubt hoping that the new Target Field will help increase revenue.
Whatever the case may be it seems pretty obvious that both sides would like to get a deal done, and preferably before next season starts so it doesn't become a distraction throughout the year. Plus, the Twins know that if they allow Mauer to hit the open market as a free agent it will be almost impossible to keep him around as he could easily command upwards of $25 million a year.So if the Twins haven't started trying to get something done with Mauer yet, they should probably get cracking.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mauer would be crazy to accept an extension that didn't pay him close to $25 mil a year. If he becomes a free agent, he could simply call the Yankees and say, I'm yours for $28 mil per, and the response would be, Welcome aboard. That would be the end of the Posada era, and not only would the Yankees look at Mauer as a great plus on defense, but also on offense. Mauer would be a natural in the Yankees line-up, and he would definately get a chance for a W-S ring.
In one short paragraph there, you have summed up exactly what is wrong with baseball. Every smaller market team is a Yankees farm team.
Shocking as it is to a Yankee fan, not every player is the mercenary your Yanks crave! He may go for 20-22 mil, to stay in his homestate....kinda like a guy named Kirby Puckett did.
Wow....its already starting for spankee fans...trying to buy another trophy...lets see if the can get that payroll over 300 million next year...Why stop there buy Roy Halliday, Lakey and throw in holliday from the cardinals...then raise those ticket prices sky high!!!
Mauer already has all the money he could ever want/need. If the Twins commit to putting together a lineup that can win, Mauer will stay. He loves it here. He is a humble guy and doesn't want the press on him all of the time like he would get in NY.
Teams like the Twins have been very successfull, because they know how to develope talent. Also, they get a great deal of money from the large market, richer teams, to develope and keep that talent. The Yankees alone contributed $100 mil to the pot, so stop crying about the Yankees, if it were not for them and other successfull teams, the Twins would have folded long ago. The Twins just got a large new stadium to play in next season, although they were dumb enough to build one without a dome in the Twin Cities, hope they like playing in those conditions. The difference between the Yankees and other teams, is the fact the Steinbrenner family buts the profits back into the team to build a winner for their fans, unlike others that sell off their talent to make more and more for themselves, and say to hell with the fans, ie, the Marlins for one.
if the yankees get mauer it will be my last day as a twins fan. I have been there since 1965 and all the yankees do is buy a team with money. I will take what i have anyday beacuse of pride. I dont feel mauer will go because every home town fan will hate him forever and the extra money isnt worth it. life is short.
IF THE OTHER TEAMS DIDN'T PUT THEIR PLAYERS UP FOR SELL, THE YANKEES WOULD NOT "BUY THEM", SO STOP COMPLAINING AND STOP HATING AND BLAME YOUR TEAM'S OWNER FOR BEING STUPID AND CHEAP..........
It's so funny to hear the Twins crying already. How fast they forget their team was to be shut down by MLB, and were saved at the last minute. The fans don'y support teams as they should, those teams don't make enough money to compete with the larger teams, they get huge amounts of money from the taxes levied on the bigger teams, and if they choose not to put it back into the team, but, rather in their own pockets, blame your owners, not the Yankees. I give credit to the Yankees for developing a great farm system, which gives them players such as Joba, Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrara, Bret Gardner, Jeter, Posada, Rivera,Cano, Wang, Robertson, Aceves, Coke and Pettitte. That's a strong group of home grown talent, the core of the team that won this years World Series. So, before you scream the Yankees buy all their players, open your mind, before your mouth, and learn something. Every team gets key position players through free agency, others take farm hands in place of their star players so they don't have to pay the stars, field a low level team, just to keep the profits in the owner's pocket. As information, the Dogers, Angels and Red Sox, have more money than the Yankees, but to cheap to spend it as the Yankees do.
It's called market size dip sh*t. Small-market teams have limited resources because their fan base is smaller, duh. Does that make them any less worthy? If baseball didn't support these teams then you'd have a league with 6 teams in it. Think that league is going to be around very long? You are so fu*ing stupid it's amazing. I hope the Twins rape the Yankees wallet as much as they possibly can. Too bad they can't stick it in your ass too.
I BELIEVE MLB SHOULD MANDATE THAT CLUB OWNERS MUST PUT ALL REVENUE RECEIVED THROUGH PROFIT SHARING BACK INTO PLAYERS, TEAM DEVELOPMENT, AND NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE AND USE THAT MONEY AS THEY SEE FIT. THEN, AND ONLY THEN, WILL YOU SEE TEAMS FIELD MORE COMPETITIVE PLAYERS.
htc6600:
This is a blog where people exchange thoughts, not meant for low life people that have to resort to fowl responses because they can't think of any intelligent words in which to respond. Look at past MLB history, and you'll see teams that were small market teams, such as the Twins, Rays, A's that were very, very successfull because of the leadership those teams had, so money is not the reason large market teams stay at, or near the top, it's how they spend the money they earn. Again, the vast majority of the Yankees are home grown, and in the past the Yankees have spent a great deal of money on star players that were a bust. The Twins went to the free agency list looking to upgrade, as well as trades this past season, it's all part of the game. Grow up and learn more about the overall history of the game, before opening your fowl mouth, and proving how ignorant you truly are!
I'M IN LOVE WITH MAUER