Nick’s Twins Blog dissects an answer by the Twins general manager about Joe Mauer’s contract status:
And so, John rerouted. “Well, let me ask one question that’s not really about the contract,” he said. “If an extension doesn’t get done by spring training, do you feel comfortable going into next year with Mauer as a walk-away free agent?”
“Well, he’s a player signed through 2010,” Smith retorted.
Bonnes pressed on. “But for instance, Santana was a player signed for the next year as well…”
Finally, Smith relented and answered the question. “If we think Joe Mauer wants to stay here long-term, yes, we feel very comfortable going into next year.”
I still think the Twins should take the money they were willing to give Santana, $20 million a year, and offer it to Joe for five years. That way, the Twins get the best seasons of his career, and someone else can pay him a huge amount of money to decline. Yes, I know he’s worth much more than that, but I assume Mauer would be willing to give his home team a discount.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:39 pm | Players | Permalink | 6 Comments
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October 26th, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
Plus, I think it would be really hard for someone with Mauer’s injury history to turn down $100mm.
October 26th, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
The Twins play in a division where they are very competitive with a good shot at getting to the post season most years. If Mauer wants a WS ring he has a decent shot with the Twins.
October 26th, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
I still think if Mauer wants to win he should go to a team like Boston or Philly or or maybe even the Mets. That way he can win AND get paid.
October 27th, 2009 @ 10:12 am
I think we’ve seen far too many free agents in all four sports leave for the money over the years for me to ever trust a big-time free agent to stay for less until I actually see him do it. The Twins should make an offer like that, though, simply for the p.r. alone, so they can say, well, we made a representative offer, but the just blew it out of the water, because of the inherent unfairness of baseball economics, etc. Since Mauer’s a hometown guy, the Twins fans may not accept it in his case, but it may be the best the Twins can do.
October 27th, 2009 @ 10:44 am
I don’t know if its relevant – and these things change (see Cal
Ripken Sr., Billy Ripken) – but Joe’s brother, Jake was just promoted as a manager in the Twins system.
October 31st, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
I sat across the from Joe in first class on a flight from Baltimore to Minnesota (10-30-09). He had a bunch of Baltimore Ravens gear…. I think the Nationals are going to go after him next year..Baltimore has a good rookie catcher so I think they are out