Twins Extend Joe Mauer, 8 years $184 million

[FishFF]

Mauer 8/$184

[Chewford]

Time to go buy a Hawaiian island.

[Party]

Associated Press / March 22, 2010
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Joe Mauer is staying home.
Discuss
COMMENTS (8)

The American League MVP agreed to an eight-year, $184 million contract extension with Minnesota yesterday that includes a full no-trade clause, a massive deal that shows the Twins are no longer spending like a small-market club.

The deal covers the 2011-2018 seasons and is the fourth largest — both in total value and average salary — in major league history. Starting next season, the All-Star catcher will make $23 million a year.

The agreement came just hours after the Twins received bad news. They learned they would be without the services of closer Joe Nathan for the 2010 season because of a right elbow injury that will require surgery. Nathan, who leads the major leagues with 246 saves since 2004, shut it down after playing catch with pitching coach Rick Anderson for 10 minutes.

Nathan, 35, hopes to have Tommy John surgery within two weeks to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He was injured March 6 during a 20-pitch outing in a spring training game against the Red Sox.

As for Mauer’s new contract, the team scheduled a news conference for 7 p.m. today at the team’s spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. Mauer, 26, who has won three AL batting titles and is considered one of the best defensive catchers in the game, was entering the final year of his current contract.

The $184 million total worth is fourth behind two deals signed by Alex Rodriguez — the $275 million deal with the Yankees signed in 2007 and a $252 million contract signed with Texas in 2000 — and Derek Jeter’s $189 million deal signed with the Yankees in 2001 that expires after this season.

Mauer, the St. Paul native, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Twins in 2001 and quickly emerged as a fan favorite. The 6-foot-5-inch former star quarterback at Cretin Derham-Hall High School receives marriage proposals by the dozens at every home game.

Last year, after missing the first month of the season with a back injury, Mauer hit .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs to help the Twins win the AL Central division.
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal..._million_deal/

[PitchingWinsGames]

I audibly said "Holy jeez"

[Bobbob1313]

If there's one guy that's worth it to one team.

[Party]

Twins payroll is $94 million this year.

[Branch]

Was kind of hoping they wouldn't do this, just to see if the Sox could outbid the Yankees this offseason. Oh well, good for him.

[Fritz]

I wonder what the Yankees would've given him.

[kylekash]

I saw somewhere, where a couple "mlb experts" said he probably left 40-60 mil on the table by signing now. They said he could have got around 30M a year most likely.

[Party]

Awesome!

[wanks1212]

Uh, am I the only one who thinks it may not be the smartest thing to devote 25% of your payroll to one player? Especially when Morneau is on the books for $15 mil through like 2014, and Nathan is on the books for just over 11 mil in 2011.

Hell, Mauer and Morneau are going to be about 40% of Minnesota's payroll in the near future, and they don't have cheap, young talent comign through the minors in positions of need (2B, SS, SP).

The Twins had to make this deal, because of the PR angle, but it's going to handcuff them eventually.

[Bobbob1313]

He's the face of the franchise, and I could see him, in the later years, doing something like what Helton did, where he restructures the last 30 mil or so to increase flexibility while on his retirement tour.

[Swifty]

They could also just end up spending more than they have in the past and not end up handcuffed.

[Bobbob1313]

I think that is likely, though their stadium is, to me, a question mark.

It is, by all means, a game changer.

But let's see how the April and September attendance is before we get ahead of ourselves.

[wanks1212]

They've already bumped the payroll up to ~$95 mil. I'm not sure how much more room they have to go up. Some people say they're streched to the max, others say they could possibly go up to like $105-$110 next year.
--------------------

But let's see how the April and September attendance is before we get ahead of ourselves.

Weather won't be a factor in September. It's fine to sit outside at a baseball game then.

Normally I'd say April attendance would suck, but with how warm it's been this winter, they may not have any problems there, so long as this winter is indicative of future winters (which, obviously, it may not be, and since I'm not Cape I have no idea of the future weather patterns).