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In 2001, Joe Mauer was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the first pick of the first round of the draft. His major league debut was three years later where he went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored in a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians. His career has been spectacular ever since. He holds a career batting average of .326 and has over 1,000 hits. Mauer's career year happened in 2009, where he hit .365 and had 28 homeruns. After his best statistical season, Mauer signed a record deal.
Mauer agreed to an eight year, $184 million contract extension in 2010. It is the largest contract ever signed by a catcher. At the time of his contract, Mauer was considered to be one of the best players in baseball. The problem is that he can't stay healthy. As a catcher, he has only played over 140 games in a season one time. He has been on the disabled list several times over his career. This year, he has only played 9 games out of the 22 that the Twins have played.
Mauer doesn't have injury problems because of bad luck and stupid plays. Mauer has injury problems because he plays one of the most physically demanding positions in sports, catcher. It is very difficult to have a long career at catcher because of the physical toll it takes on the body, more specifically the knees. If Mauer can't stay healthy, the Twins are going to have to make a very difficult decision...keep playing Mauer at catcher or move him to the outfield?
A lot people say that the Twins should just play Mauer at outfield and keep him healthy. The problem with that is the Twins just signed Mauer to an 8 year contract for $184 million to play behind the plate, not in the outfield. Mauer's value in baseball is due to the fact that he is a fantastic hitting catcher. If Joe Mauer was an outfielder, he wouldn't have received a contract offer near that high.
For example the Twins outfielders this year are Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Delmon Young. Last year, Span hit .264 with 26 stolen bases and 85 runs scored, Cuddyer hit .271 with 14 homeruns and 93 runs scored, and Young hit .298 with 21 homeruns and 112 runs batted in. Compare that to Mauer last year, who hit .327 with 9 homeruns and 75 runs batted in. Mauer is not that much of a step-up, if any, from these three players. But compare Mauer's stats to the Twins backup catcher, Drew Butera. Butera has played in 60 games the last two seasons and is batting .188 with 2 homeruns over that time period. Mauer is a huge step-up from Butera. Mauer's value as a catcher is undeniable; his value as an outfield isn't.
Mauer is a good baseball player; he is a great catcher. Moving Mauer to the outfield lowers his value in the league. Even if moving Mauer to the outfield is the best thing for him and the team, how are the Twins going to explain paying an outfielder, whose average stats are .326 with 10 homeruns, 60 runs batted in, and 4 stolen bases a season, that much money? The fans won't be happy if Mauer can't stay on the field, but they also won't be happy if the team is paying Mauer $184 million to be an outfielder.
What would you do if you were the Minnesota Twins? Would you risk leaving him at catcher and missing out on several games every season or would you move him to the outfield despite his large contract? I don't think the Twins have much of a choice...play Mauer at catcher as long as possible before they have to move him to the outfield. Either way, that large contract extentsion looks like it could hurt the organization for years to come...
all stats from www.baseball-reference.com
I have to refute a few of your arguments in your post Booth. First of all, Mauer has played 130+ games in 5 of his 6 full seasons. That's actually average to above average for a catcher. Second, when comparing Mauer to the Twins current outfield, I don't know how a 30-60 point increase in BA is not much of a step up. Getting on base is the most important thing in baseball and Mauer does that at a higher rate than almost any other player in the bigs.
ReplyDeleteI agree though that he does lose some value if you move him out of the every day catcher role. This is probably Thome's last year, so getting another solid catcher to split time with Mauer and having him DH for about 40-50 games next season is probably their best bet.
Mauer's contract goes beyond baseball, he is also the face of that organization right now. Nonetheless, signing any catcher for an extension that big has trouble written all over it
He may go up in batting average, but his average combination of homeruns, stolen bases, runs, and runs batted in are all low compared to the rest of the guys. He is not that much of a step up in the outfield that he deserves $184. Compare his stats to Ryan Braun and then tell me that Mauer deserves more money than Braun.
ReplyDeleteThere is no argument that Mauer's salary is directly related to the position he plays. Moving him to DH makes sense, but again with the contract. You are going to justify paying a guy $184 to only bat and not field?! Not to mention, that his homerun and RBI career average is low.
Mauer can hit for average and has some power, but his contract is high because he is a catcher. Move him out of that position and he is just a high average hitter and a waste of money.
$184 million, not $184, that would be a steal!
ReplyDeleteSigning ANY baseball player for more than 4 years has trouble written all over it... This logic applies times a thousand if said player is a pitcher. The Ryan Braun deal is awesome for Brewers fans now, but lets see how it looks in 2016... will we cringe at losing 12 or so million dollars to pay him? I sure hope he keeps his play on the top of the league, but history is certainly showing us not. As for Mauer goes, he is an mvp CATCHER, and he is a gold glove CATCHER. He is a hitter no matter what position he plays, but Joe Mauer is Joe Mauer because he commands games behind the plate. Not only his defense, but I think people ALWAYS overlook the fact that the catcher has a TON of influence on pitching. Quarterback in the NFL has a lot of wear and tear, as well as a short shelf life. They are also in command during play. Do you consider moving Aaron Rodgers to kicker if he has injury tendencies, just to keep him in your lineup or because he is signed for a long time? Not a chance. Keep Mauer behind the plate, and give him all the rest days he needs, they have the advantage of the DH spot.
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