The Sox may end up thanking their stars that they didn’t pull the trigger on a trade for one of the Texas Triangle catchers because Joe Mauer could be donning red socks as soon as this July.
Mauer, an impending free agent after 2010, will command a contract with a salary range between $20-$25 million, reported Nick Cafardo yesterday.
Slated to turn 26 on April 19, Mauer would be one of the most sought after players should he land in the free agent market with both the Red Sox, New York Yankees and other teams bidding for his services.
After all, it’s not every day you get a young, All-Star catcher who’s already won two batting titles.
In 2008, Mauer hit .328/.413/.451 with 31 doubles and nine dingers. He was awarded with a Gold Glove this past season for his work behind the plate. Catcher’s fielding is perhaps the most difficult thing to quantify in baseball, but let’s try.
Tango Tiger’s Scouting Reports (in which fans of the teams offer their opinion on fielding) ranks Mauer a 77 on overall fielding (50 is league-average, scale is 0-100). He has good instincts and everything you look for in a catcher: great hands, strong and accurate arm. Indeed, his caught stealing percentage is 41.2, which is just… awesome. He rarely makes errors and has great range. Bottom line: he’s a force on both sides of the plate.
While he only stole one base last year, he’s stolen as much as 13. There really is no overall weakness to Mauer’s game. The only concern is that Mauer is 6’5″ — his knees may start going sooner rather than later and he’ll eventually have to move to first or left field. This has been an oft-cited weakness of Mauer, however, and it has yet to affect him in any way… so he could simply be a freak of nature.
The economy might dictate the moving of Mauer midseason if the Twins aren’t in the race. A lot of teams have and will have financial troubles. As the season progresses and the outlook of the team and economy become clearer, you may find people making money or on the cusp of it being moved simply for those reasons.
Also, you might be wondering why the Twins would move Mauer if he’s not a free agent until after 2010. It’s the same theory that Texas followed by unloading Mark Teixeira onto the Braves: you’ll get more value for a season and a half of Mauer rather than just a season or less. Texas reaped the rewards in that trade and will contend for years to come because of it.
The Twins could easily ask for a package headlined by Clay Buchholz… and get it. I don’t think the Sox would blink at a package consisting of Buchholz, Josh Reddick, Luis Exposito and Yamaico Navarro.
If the Sox were lucky enough to get Mauer midseason (and even if not, they could just as easily track Mauer down in the offseason), it would obviously put Jason Varitek in a backup role. Bard would have to be moved (likely to Minnesota as filler) and Varitek would walk after the year because he would want to start (I’m assuming).
This is going to be a topic of much discussion until Mauer either signs a contract extension, is traded/signs elsewhere or with the Sox, or the Sox acquire a different catcher of the future.
It bears asking: Is it smart to invest over $20 million annual salary into catcher, such a volatile position? Would it be smart to give up Buchholz and other top prospects or wait Mauer out until free agency?
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