Twins Will Try to Resign Joe Mauer

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the Twins will try to sign catcher Joe Mauer to a seven year, $120 million extension during this offseason.  This is obviously a no-brainer for the Twins: Mauer is the face of the Twins’ franchise, and he’s currently one of the best players in the game.  The Twins need to lock him up for the long-term now as they prepare to move into their new ballpark.

This is the ideal time to try to resign Mauer.  Aside from the good PR as they move into the new ballpark, the Twins made a few late-season trades this year, and remain in the pennant race, probably at least until they play the upcoming, huge four-game series in Detroit next week.  Right now, Mauer’s desire to remain in the Twin Cities is likely very high, since the Twins remain in contention and appear committed to winning.

Also, given Mauer’s injury history, he has a strong incentive to take less money now from the Twins, than he would get after 2010, if he plays as well next year as he did this year, since the money would be guaranteed now even if he gets hurt next year.

In short, all the spheres seem to be aligned for a Mauer contract extention to get done sooner rather than later.

On the subject of Mauer’s health, I think the Twins need to give serious consideration to trading Jason Kubel this offseason for a middle infielder or a starting pitcher.  Kubel is only 27 this year and is having a career year, hitting an even .300 with a .900 OPS.

The Twins also locked Kubel into a suddenly bargain-priced three-year deal during the last off-season, which pays him $4.1 million in 2010 with a $5.25 million team option for 2011.  That’s a great price for the production Kubel contributed this year.

This contract is probably a reason why the Twins will not trade Kubel.  However, it definitely adds to his trade value, particularly since he is primarily a DH, since there are always a glut of DH’s on the market every off-season (although not of DHs with a .900 OPS).

While trading Kubel would definitely hurt the Twins’ offense in 2010, the Twins really need to find a way to play Mauer fewer games at catcher while keeping his bat in the line-up.  The Twins now appear to have a second catcher in Jose Morales, who can play more regularly than Mike Redmond without hurting the team offensively.

While Morales only has 99 career major league at-bats to date, he has a career .319 batting average and a .375 OBP in 784 ABs at AAA Rochester.   Morales will be 27 in 2010, and he looks ready to be a major league catcher.

I noticed that Mike Redmond would like to come back for the Twins in 2010, but at this point in his career, he’s not even worth the $950,000 in salary he made this year.  He’ll turn 39 years old next May, and he hasn’t been an adequate major league catcher with the bat since 2007.  If the Twins need a third catcher and don’t have anyone better in their system, I could see them bringing him back, but at a pay cut from his current salary.