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Joe Mauer

Cafardo’s Latest: Mauer, Beckett, Wood, Sonnanstine

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The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has his usual Sunday column up, kicking it off by entertaining the unlikely possibility of Joe Mauer playing in Boston. If the Twins and Mauer can't work out a long-term deal, Cafardo thinks the Red Sox would be one of a handful of teams that could afford the superstar backstop. Here are a few other highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • One possible roadblock in the Josh Beckett negotiations is the Red Sox' desire to incorporate injury protection into the contract. If Beckett has a good year in 2010, he will likely have suitors that won't include health clauses in their offers, which could appeal to the right-hander.
  • The Cubs have some interest in Kerry Wood. Cafardo notes that the Indians closer would also be a good fit for the Twins, but that the Tribe would have to pick up a significant chunk of the $10.5MM Wood will earn this season.
  • The Rays may entertain trade offers for Andy Sonnanstine, who is having a solid spring.
  • Billy Wagner says that returning to Boston was "tempting" but that with Jonathan Papelbon firmly entrenched as the ninth-inning guy, the lefty went where he'd have a better chance to close.

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Strasburg, Towers, Washburn

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Thursday linkage…

Odds & Ends: AL East, Mauer, D’Backs, Sheets

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Some links to read with Opening Day just a month away…

Heyman On Lee, Reynolds, Mauer

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The Mariners and Cliff Lee will likely wait until the season ends before discussing a deal to keep the lefty in Seattle long-term, but both sides tell Jon Heyman of SI.com that such an agreement is possible. GM Jack Zduriencik said there’s “no doubt” he’d like to have Lee around after he hits free agency this offseason. And Lee can imagine extending his stay in Seattle, too.

"So far I like it a lot,'' Lee said. "Obviously, free agency is where you want to be as a player … I'm not going to rule anything out.''

Lee says the Phillies offered him a deal “close” to the three-year $60MM extension they gave Roy Halladay after trading for him. Heyman notes that Zduriencik tried to acquire Halladay before the Phillies did, only to discover that Doc didn’t want to join the Mariners. Here are a couple more rumors from Heyman:
  • Mark Reynolds would like a two-year $18MM deal to cover his first two arbitration years. That's Prince Fielder money, but the D'Backs would prefer to pay him $13MM or so, which would be closer to what Dan Uggla made for the same stretch of his career.
  • There has been no acrimony between the Twins and Joe Mauer. That's a good thing for Twins fans, but other than that we know very little about the negotiations.

Mauer’s Agent Arrives At Twins’ Camp

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As expected, uncovering details on the Joe Mauer extension talks has proven difficult.  Still, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune learned that Mauer's agent Ron Shapiro arrived at Twins' camp in Fort Myers, Florida.  Neal explains:

While it's being shaped as Shapiro's annual visit to spring training, the sides are expected to hold face-to-face discussions about the future of the Twins' MVP catcher.

In a slightly pessimistic note, Neal speaks of "indications that progress has slowed recently."  But don't worry Twins fans, SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter) and ESPN's Buster Olney both speak of optimism about these talks.  Neal still contends that no deadlines have been set.  Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported on November 30th that Mauer "plans on ending contract negotiations if a deal isn't struck by the end of spring training."

Tom Tango of Inside The Book recently tackled Mauer's value in an ESPN article, and determined that somewhere between $145-176MM would be appropriate for eight years.

Why Padres Likely Won’t Sign Adrian Gonzalez

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A pair of interesting viewpoints emerged today about the Padres, and why they are likely to trade Adrian Gonzalez, rather than extend his contract.

As Ken Rosenthal puts it in his latest column, regarding Padres fans, "I would want to know just one thing: Why can’t my team sign Adrian Gonzalez if the Twins can sign Joe Mauer?"

Of course, Rosenthal lists the many reasons: attendance is down in San Diego, San Diego is the 28th biggest television market in baseball, and a Gonzalez deal could net a number of prospects in return.

But there is a more ominous reason cited by Rosenthal: there are questions about new ownership's viability. As Rosenthal writes, "Just over a year ago, Moorad’s group reached agreement to gain controlling interest of the club from John Moores over a five-year period. That’s right, the other owners allowed one of their franchises to be purchased on a layaway plan — an unusual arrangement, to say the least."

Jake Peavy also weighed in on the choice by the Padres to deal Gonzalez during an interview with Dan Hayes of the North County Times.

"He's a great player, and at times I think to myself, 'How could they not sign this guy?'" Peavy said of Gonzalez. "A hometown guy playing for his hometown team and being the superstar player he is. At the same time, this is the same organization that let their Hall of Fame closer walk away."

Peavy was referring, of course, to Trevor Hoffman.

If ownership can't afford Gonzalez, of course, that puts them in company with many other small-market teams. But it will be interesting to watch just what San Diego can spend-payroll was less than $44MM last season.

Odds & Ends: Beckett, Jones, Cust, Cubs

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A roundup of some news on this Thursday night…

  • In an interview on CSNNE's Sports Tonight show, Josh Beckett said he would "probably not" negotiate with the Red Sox about a new contract once the season begins.  WEEI's Rob Bradford reports on Beckett's appearance here.
  • Bobby Cox thinks Chipper Jones will play out the final three years on his contract, reports David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Jones was hinting at retirement last fall in the wake of his disappointing (for him) 2009 campaign, but thus far in spring training, O'Brien reports that Jones has been nothing but enthusiastic about Atlanta's chances this season. 
  • In an interview with Jane Lee of MLB.com, Jack Cust confirms what we all thought about this winter's crop of free agents at outfield and DH: "it just wasn't a very good market unless you're Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Even for those guys, I don't think the interest level was as high as they may have thought it to be. Unless you're one of those big dudes, you take what you can get."
  • Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com says that the Cubs have some interest in Luke Gregerson and/or Jason Frasor.
  • Jon Paul Morosi tweets that there is "not much new" going on with the negotiations between Joe Mauer and the Twins.
  • MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports that Alex Rodriguez offered Johnny Damon some free agency advice this winter.  Oh, so THAT's why it took so long for Damon to sign…
  • We had heard about Toronto's possible interest in Jose Julio Ruiz, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian now reports that the Jays may be looking at another Cuban prospect: Adeiny Hechevarria.
  • Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the Royals agreed to terms with Josh Fields and Kila Ka'aihue on one-year contracts.  Terms were not disclosed, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweeted that neither deal is expected to exceed $500K.

Edes On Lowell, Ortiz, Martinez

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Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com chatted with fans today about the Red Sox, and here were a few items of note during the conversation…

  • Edes said "there is a consensus expectation" that the Twins and Joe Mauer will come to terms on a long-term deal for the superstar catcher.  Edes said that Mauer's negotiations might be holding up Boston's attempt to sign current backstop Victor Martinez to a contract extension, but only in the sense that the Red Sox want to use Mauer's contract to set the market, not out of a hope that they might sign Mauer in the offseason.
  • Speaking of Martinez, Edes believes that the Sox will soon begin to negotiate with both the catcher and fellow impending free agent Josh Beckett.
  • In response to a fan who asked why the Red Sox don't hang onto Mike Lowell (who has been considered to be as good as traded for months) as insurance in case David Ortiz has another early-season slump, Edes said that Boston thinks Lowell is simply too big of a health risk.  If Ortiz does indeed struggle again, Edes believes the club will acquire a new player rather than look within the organization. 

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Lowell, Mauer, Adrian

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Links for Wednesday…

Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Cashman, Orioles, Wang

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Tim Lincecum passed his physical according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Presumably his two-year, $23MM deal is official now.
  • Yankees' GM Brian Cashman sat down for an interview with NoMaas.org. He discussed what went into some of their decision making this offseason, among other things.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun projected the Orioles' Opening Day roster. 
  • Chien-Ming Wang has already passed his physical with the Nationals, reports Chico Harlan of The Washington Post. Given the righty's recent shoulder surgery, it was far from a formality.  
  • Joe Torre tells Mike Francesa of WFAN that the Dodgers are on the lookout for a fifth starter (audio here). Torre says the Dodgers could find that starter within their organization. He also says he and the Doders are talking about adding a year onto his contract, which expires after this season.
  • Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Batter's Box that the Blue Jays will draft the best players available this June. Anthopoulos also said the Jays will be open to dealing from their pitching depth.
  • MLB.com's Doug Miller shows that baseball's executives are getting younger as owners take a business-first approach to winning.
  • Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says he'd be willing to guarantee Joe Mauer eight or ten years if that's what it takes to keep the catcher in Minnesota, despite the fact that Mauer would almost certainly be playing another position by the end of a contract that long. 
  • Padres GM Jed Hoyer tells MLB.com's Corey Brock that he's pleased with his first offseason as a GM and the process that the Padres used this winter.
  • Giants officials believe "the day is coming when legions of talented hitters will follow" Pablo Sandoval's path to the majors, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Felipe Lopez would be a "great, great fit" for the Mets. 
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