The Minnesota Twins have spent the offseason making some roster moves that have fans anxiously awaiting the 2010 baseball season.
As if a new stadium weren't enough to peak the interest of the Twins-faithful, the Minnesota franchise has brought in talent in all areas of the field.
The first acquisition was JJ Hardy, an everyday infielder that gives the Twins some options at shortstop. Gone is Carlos Gomez in the deal to acquire Hardy after the center fielder struggled to make a name for himself after coming to Minnesota from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade.
After Hardy, the Twins signed Jim Thome to a one-year contract. Thome won't be an everyday player, but will slot in the DH position nicely behind Kubel and can provide some depth behind Justin Morneau at first base.
Adding another player to the lackluster infield of previous seasons, the Twins signed Orlando Hudson, to a one-year, $5 million contract. Hudson at 2B increases the Twins batting average at that position by almost 50 points.
That is it as far as the blockbuster type of deals go, but there is the biggest of the blockbuster deals still pending. Of course, I am talking about Joe Mauer and the fact that his current contract expires in November.
Rumors float around as Minnesota's most famous son awaits and considers his future in the Twins organization.
The reigning MVP has a lot of leverage; he led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage last season. Should he wait for when his contract expires to receive open-market offers, he could very will command offers of $25-30 million a year from teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.
Let's be very clear here, not signing Joe Mauer to a contract extension could, would, and should be considered the biggest public relations blunder in the history of Minnesota sports.
Pitchers and catchers are set to report to Spring Training this Sunday, and a deal for the Twins catcher is still not done. We were told in November that a deal would be on the desk by Christmas.
That deadline came and went, then it was by the end of January, that deadline also came and went. Now, the clearest deadline that most Twins fans always had in their heads was this coming Sunday, the day catchers show up to Spring Training.
All signs point to the fact that a deal will not be done by Sunday.
My guess is that Mauer wants to be a Twin. Everyone in Minnesota and anywhere else a person may dawn the "TC" on their cap, want him to follow in Kirby Puckett's footsteps and be a career Twin.
Clearly talks have been ongoing, but the numbers just haven't been worked out.
The x-factor in negotiations has to be that the Twins do have something to lose, even if its years down the road. Mauer, in contrast, has next to nothing to lose.
If a deal isn't done, and he becomes a free agent, I find it hard for him to say no to a deal that will likely pay him close to $30 million a year for the first three years of whatever that contract he's offered in order to stay loyal to the Twins.
The Twins definitely have something to lose in offering him a deal like the ones being speculated upon now. An eight to 10-year deal for a catcher is huge, as it's the only position where the player physically deteriorates at a rapid pace.
Mauer is no stranger to injury, either. He's been sidelined for periods of time in two of the last three seasons. Since all money is guaranteed in Major League Baseball, that means the Twins would have to pay Mauer his entire salary, despite any injury he may have.
Be that as it may, none of it bothers most Twins fans much, if at all. A deal needs to be done, and done soon. It's not implausible to think that Joe Mauer has at least five more MVP-type seasons in him.
No one needs to tell the Twins management all of this. Then again, most of us thought a deal would have been penned by now.
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