Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Twins see good to great players come and they watch them go. That’s true of nearly everyone except for catcher Joe Mauer. Mauer has continued to be loyal to the Twins who have been loyal in return by giving him a rather large contract. Since Mauer went down with a concussion recently, that two-way loyalty might mean that both sides have to consider the future and ask themselves if Mauer’s catching days should be over.
From Mauer’s standpoint I would imagine that he loves the catching position but he also seems to enjoy playing first base. With Justin Morneau likely moving on after the season there would be a good reason to move Mauer there most of the time. Clearly he could still catch every now and then but the Twins have a lot of interest and future tied up in this one player. Mauer might feel he serves the team better long term being a first baseman instead of a possibly shortened career as a catcher.
When looking at it from the Twins’ point of view it becomes just shot of laughable. They are paying a ton of money for Mauer for quite a few more seasons. Concussions aren’t the problem in MLB that they are in the NFL but for sure they can be a serious problem for a catcher who is always in the line of fire of bats, balls and players. It would make a ton of sense for the Twins to place Mauer as the first basemen most of the time next season. They have decent options already in place that could fill the catching void anyway. I’d make the move if I were them, or at least try to convince Mauer it was the best idea.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
