Joe Mauer signs 8 year, $184 mill extension with Minnesota Twins

[BrewCrewForever]

Per Kelly Thesier of MLB.com. Seen it re-tweeted by Trenni.

[kilgore37]

Guess how much Prince is going to want

[BrewCrewForever]

Glad the Twins got this done. Nice to see the homegrown kid stay with his team long term.

[MoreTrife]

WOW! did not see this coming! well, good for the twins. he is a one of a kind player. catcher is more of a premium position than first base....isn't it?? joe mauer's play at catcher is worth more than prince's at first right??

[Diskono]

Noooooooooooo!!!!!

 

edit: not changing my avatar until its official.

[TooLiveBrew]

joe mauer's play at catcher is worth more than prince's at first right??

Absolutely. This contract really doesn't have much, if anything, to do with how much Fielder will get.

[The Big Cheese]

If the Twins can sign Mauer to this type of extension there is NO REASON (other than what the Billy Beane Moneyball fanatics on this board want you to believe) for us not to be able to have the money to sing Prince. We draw just as many, if not more, fans then Minnesota does. No excuses not to get this done now...

[jakesdaddio]

This is interesting, because I don't see the Twins being able to sign any more guys after that big of a contract. I am happy that he won't be going to Boston, NY, LA...staying home in Minnesota. I hate all things Minnesota, but for some reason, I have been a Twins fan most of my life. I even got to go to Game 2 of the 1991 World Series. I'm glad to see Mauer stay where he belongs, and I hope this means we have an outside chance of keeping Fielder.

[PrinceFielderx1]

joe mauer's play at catcher is worth more than prince's at first right??

Absolutely. This contract really doesn't have much, if anything, to do with how much Fielder will get.

Why do you say that? I'm curious..

[Hofbraunhaus]

I have a lot of friends who are Twins fans which definitely helps create a bit of a rivalry but I am glad to see this. Mauer is a great player and seems like a good guy so it is good to see him stay with a small market team. My only question is approximately what percentage of the Twins payroll is going to be going to Mauer?

[kramnoj]

If the Twins can sign Mauer to this type of extension there is NO REASON (other than what the Billy Beane Moneyball fanatics on this board want you to believe) for us not to be able to have the money to sing Prince.

 

The issue isn't whether the Brewers have the money to sign Prince. They do. The question is what is a salary that Prince will accept and that accurately measures his value and injury risk.

 

I've seen people say that the revenue increase of the new stadium will make up for the increase in pay to Mauer, so the Twins have the challenge of continuing to develop young talent to play with their signed talent.

[Pointer1VB]

That is a long and big contract for a injury prone position (and player) but I agree with everyone else here that I'm glad for the Twins. Sometimes the cost can be high, but the knowledge and peace of mind provided for a team knowing that their franchise and keystone player will be around for the better part of a decade is very nice to have. I'd say I'd be nervous but mostly comfortable with Fielder getting a contract similar to this. Knowing that we'd have Braun and Fielder together for a long time is some good peace of mind.

 

Edit: Sentence fragment

[kramnoj]

Right now the 2011 Twins payroll has $67.5M going to 7 players in Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer, Baker, Harris and Span. Cots has the current Twins payroll at $95M, so that would seem to be what the Twins think their new revenue will allow them to budget, so Mauer's future salary represents about 24% of the possible payroll.

[trwi7]

I'm just glad it was signed so I don't have to hear the "which of the Red Sox or Yankees will sign Joe Mauer?"

[berniebrewer4life]

If the Twins can sign Mauer to this type of extension there is NO REASON (other than what the Billy Beane Moneyball fanatics on this board want you to believe) for us not to be able to have the money to sing Prince. We draw just as many, if not more, fans then Minnesota does. No excuses not to get this done now...

We draw more fans, and we should be able to resign Prince. However, you must keep in mind that the Twins have one of the richest owners in Major League Baseball. Now that Carl Pohlad passed on, the purse strings have been untied. If Mark A had as much money as the Pohlads, i wouldn't doubt a deal would happen. However, given ownership's limited funds, i can see it being a problem. Hopefully i am wrong as we will see a deal announced at some point.

[trwi7]

Not only do they have a richer owner, they also have the 15th largest media market in the United States. Milwaukee is 35th.

[endaround]

The Twin Cities are not a small market. They're mid market. The Twin cities metro area is twice the size of the Milwaukee metro area. The only thing more annoying then calling the Twins a small market club is calling the Marlins a small market club.

[berniebrewer4life]

Yep, i am sure they also have a better influx of money from the TV contract, because of the bigger market size. I forgot to take that into account.

[Funketown]

For whatever reason, I'm happy to see Mauer staying in Minnesota. Here's to hoping for continued success for Mauer over the next 8 years.

[carniesandrubes]

They probably would have gotten a better ROI over the long run using that $ for a retractable roof instead of spending it on Mauer.

[logan82]

Good for Mauer. If that's what Fielder wants, forget it. Like others have pointed out, we are not in the Twins league as far as owner money or market size.

[Pointer1VB]

Good for Mauer. If that's what Fielder wants, forget it. Like others have pointed out, we are not in the Twins league as far as owner money or market size.

I fear if we don't extend Fielder then we won't be in the Twins league as far as wins and postseason appearances, IMO.

[Ennder]

I'd rather lock up Braun and Gallardo than Fielder, not sure we can afford to sign all 3 long term and not sure Fielder should be signed to a long deal in the NL.

[TheCrew07]

Can someone please explain to me why the owner's net worth is relevant in any of these payroll discussions? What owner, in what sport is actually paying his player out of his own pocket? I've never understood the fascination with the "deep pockets" owner... it's meaningless. The only thing that matters is how much money the team and league generate to make payroll. Unfortunately in baseball the revenue generation is left almost exclusively to the individual teams, so the payroll is limited in a very real way by market size, and the not individual wealth of the owner.

[Ennder]

Twins don't play in a small market, their payroll has been limited by a bad stadium deal.

 

Also the owner still does decide how much of the revenue goes back into the team so it does matter somewhat.