Joe Mauer was out of the Twins lineup for the fifth straight game on Sunday with a sore neck. With no-one to fill the catcher spot the Twins were forced to recall Triple A Rochester catcher Rene Rivera. Rivera started at catcher for the Twins game against the Tigers on Sunday evening, going 0-3 with 1 RBI and 2 strikeouts. Rivera did an ok job behind the plate, as the Twins beat the Tigers 11-4, but he’s no Joe Mauer.

The lingering thought among Twins fans still is if Joe Mauer’s injury is going to affect him longer then just this season or will it linger into next season. It seems as if Mauer is doing just fine and is close to making his return behind the plate, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Mauer was feeling, “pretty good today.” Gardenhire also added, “I talked to him about whether this would be a DL situation, and that he didn’t want to put him on the DL, and that AMuer did not want to go on the DL either.” Mauer did say he believes he will be able to catch either tomorrow or the next day.

Still the question remains if Mauer returns behind the plate, can his body handle the daily rigors of being a catcher? Catcher certainly is one of the toughest positions to play healthy, let alone while being affected by injuries such as a sore neck that can linger for a while. The Twins seem intent on keeping Mauer at his original position of catcher and do not wish to switch him to a less taxing position of first base. Whatever the Twins decide to do I’m sure it’ll be in the best interest if Mauer.

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