Mauersota

Joe Mauer signed an eight year, $184 million extension with the Minnesota Twins today. It is the fourth largest deal in MLB history, and obviously the largest in Twins’ history. Some thoughts on the huge deal:

I for one don’t think that we’ve seen the best season Mauer has to offer us. 2009 was an amazing season, but I think he can do better. This season should provide a great opportunity for Mauer to best last year. First of all, his playing time should increase by a month over last year, so his number totals such as homers, doubles, hits, etc. should increase. He also finally has a legitimate #2 hitter in front of him in Orlando Hudson. His home run power is here to stay, and I predict that he will hit over 30 homers this season.

Some are saying that Mauer likely won’t be catching in a few years. Nobody knows how his body will hold up, but if Mauer does switch positions, his offensive numbers should receive a nice boost because his body won’t be so damaged and sore from catching. Mauer’s value would diminish greatly if he played a different position other than catcher, but it would be interesting to see what kind of offensive numbers he could put up while playing a less taxing position. I still believe he has the potential to hit .400 in a season; however, it would be easier to accomplish if he wasn’t catching.

What will the Twins do with super catching prospect Wilson Ramos? When Ramos reaches the majors, could Ramos and Mauer both catch 81 games and DH 81 games? Ramos could play in the majors this year, but he will likely spend it at AAA. Ramos has had a nice spring, including a home run off Johan Santana. He would be great trade bait, but the Twins don’t like to part with their top young talent. The Twins would be crazy to trade him for a closer to replace Nathan. They definitely don’t need any more outfielders. If the Twins decide to go the trade route, hopefully they will try to trade Ramos for a stud young second baseman. The organization is so weak in the middle infield, and Hudson is signed to only a one year deal.

It looks like Twins top prospect Miguel Angel Sano will get his dream of playing with his favorite player, Mauer. Sano is only 16, but he should definitely be in the majors before Mauer’s contract expires in 2018.

Today, the ownership of the Twins made it sound like payroll will continue to increase in the next few years, even approaching $120 million. However, this doesn’t mean the Twins will be able to keep everyone. Joe Nathan and MIchael Cuddyer are among a few guys that should be gone after 2011 because they will be expensive and aging. But the Twins will have adequate replacements from their farm system. Ben Revere will be a good, young, and cheap replacement for Cuddyer, and the Twins have a lot of great young relief pitchers in the minors, including Anthony Slama, Alex Burnett, Rob Delaney, and Billy Bullock.

Did I mention that Mauer is making more money than the entire Twins team did in 1999?

Overall, this is a great day for the Minnesota Twins. They ensured that the best player in baseball, who will likely end up as the best catcher ever, will be playing for them for the next nine years. With a new ballpark, an amazing lineup, new uniforms, Liriano in ’06 form, and now Joe Mauer’s new contract, 2010 should be a great year for the Twins, and the future looks extremely bright, promising, and exciting as well.

The underrated Jason Kubel

Everyone knows the Twins three best players are the M & M boys (Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau), and their all-star closer Joe Nathan. As for the Twins fourth best player, well that is where opinions vary. Some might try to make an argument for Michael Cuddyer, Denard Span, Scott Baker, or Nick Blackburn. However, I think Jason Kubel is starting to put an end to this debate.

He's the Twins most underrated player, and perhaps the most underrated player in the AL. Jason Kubel is 5th in the AL in OPS. In fact the Twins have 3 of the top 5 OPS leaders. I never thought I'd see that happen. Anyways, Kubel also ranks 8th in batting average and 5th in slugging. He's pretty much on pace to hit 30 homers and 100 RBI.

So why isn't Jason Kubel in the same tier as Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau? I see two things that he lacks. First is that he isn't that great of a fielder. But I can't blame that on him. He had a terrible knee injury a few years ago that robbed him of much of his athleticism, and that is why he is the DH. Second is that he can't hit lefties still. This is something he can improve on more so than his fielding. He is batting only .216 with an OBP of .284 and a SLG of .311. Certainly not gonna cut it. Still, anyways you cut it, Jason Kubel is clearly the Twins third best everyday player. Maybe instead of the M&M boys it should be the triple j's or something.