Joe Mauer: Red Sox Reportedly Won't Put in Claim for Twins Catcher

The Boston Red Sox just got done with one of the biggest August overhauls in MLB history, and made it clear that they aren’t trying to acquire any more superstars this season.

According to Jon Heyman, a baseball writer for CBSSports.com and MLB Network Insider, the beleaguered franchise isn’t interested in claiming Joe Mauer off of trade waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

"

#redsox wont claim mauer on trade waivers. @ken_rosenthal 1st reported he was on waivers.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) August 29, 2012"

Many felt that the BoSox would be interested in the elite catcher, especially considering they just dumped $270 million worth of salary to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

By getting rid of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, the Red Sox acknowledged that they are rebuilding and giving up on the 2012 season. However, they also have a ton of room to sign some marquee players, such as Mauer.

The 29-year-old catcher would be a star in Boston, but it seems that the organization wants to avoid more high expectations at this point.

Mauer is due $138 million over the next six years of his deal. That’s not a bad price for a left-handed hitter that has a batting average of .309 in 2012 with eight home runs and 66 RBI.

His on-base percentage of .407 is the highest in the American League, although he’s only been able to catch for a handful of games—with the Twins preferring to use him as a DH in order to keep him healthy.

The Red Sox are certainly going to need some big-name stars on their team to keep fans happy, but it seems they’ll have to wait until the offseason to see whom the franchise decides to acquire.