Sunday, March
21, 2010
Finally!!! (8
years, $184 million)
Well, no one said it would be
easy, but finally, just minutes ago, the Twins and Joe Mauer agreed to an eight year, $184
million contract extension. That means he will still make his $12.5 million
contract in 2010 and then will be with the Twins through the 2018 season.
So, what do you think? Here
are some random thoughts as I’m hearing the news now:
·
Happy Birthday to
Kelly Thesier,
but Mauer did not give you your request to let you
enjoy your birthday. Now you have to work!
·
Several of us
continued to tell people not to expect much of a hometown discount. He got a
record $5.15 million signing bonus when he signed out of high school. He got a
huge four year contract that bought out his first year of free agency, 2010. So
we shouldn’t have expected him to give a hometown discount… We hoped.
·
He will make $23
million each year from 2011 to 2018.
·
That will be
somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of the team’s salaries, generally not a
good idea. However, despite the $23 million, there will still be another $80-90
million to spend each year. Of course, when you add up the contracts of Justin Morneau,
Scott Baker, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Joe Nathan and others, that $80 million could go quickly.
·
Joe Mauer missed a
month of the 2009 season due to INJURY. He is a catcher. Believe me when I say,
the RISK is entirely on the Twins in this deal. Don’t think for a minute that
this is some sort of Twins-friendly deal.
·
Yes, this deal is
more than just about baseball, but from a purely baseball aspect, it isn’t a
great deal.
·
Fourth highest contract
in baseball history… Anyone still want to call the Twins cheap?
·
Jim Thome, Orlando
Hudson, JJ Hardy were all nice,
but many Twins fans held the entire success of the offseason on the Mauer contract being signed. That is now complete. I again
would like to encourage people to send Bill
Smith, Rob Antony and others an
apology letter. The Twins will and should get a A grade for their offseason.
·
It will be
interesting to see how Twins fans treat Mauer at this
point. What happens when he goes 0-12 in a three game series? What happens when
he jogs down to first base on a ground out to second, as he always does? What
is going to happen when certain big name free agents have to be let go because
of this signing?
·
Twins fans will
be thrilled today, and for a couple of years, the Twins fans will have to
accept that this signing means that they won’t be keeping other players.
·
NO, they should
not trade Wilson Ramos, at least not
for something as insignificant as a relief pitcher like Heath Bell!
Alright, now this is finally done… what are your thoughts? Too much? Fair market? What does it
mean?
If you would like, you can e-mail
me, or feel free to leave
your comments here.