ORLANDO – Deciding they had to protect the body and brain of their most valuable commodity, the Twins announced on Monday that Joe Mauer would transition from catcher to first base next year.
The position opened when they traded longtime first baseman Justin Morneau to the Pirates late last season. But Morneau was going to be a free agent anyway, and Minnesota clearly believes now is the time to get Mauer out from behind the plate.
Mauer had dealt with several physical issues, but the most troublesome is he did not play after Aug. 19 this year due to symptoms from a concussion.
From the moment they signed Mauer to a team-record eight-year, $184 million pact that began in 2011, the Twins recognized there might come a time – to protect the investment – that he had to stop being a catcher. Now is that time with five years at $115 million left on the deal.
Mauer, who turns 31 in April, has started 54 games at first base. He was a good enough athlete that he turned down a full scholarship to play quarterback at Florida State to stick with baseball.
Ryan Doumit, Chris Hermann and Josmil Pinto did the bulk of the catching when Mauer did not last year, which means Minnesota does not have an obvious replacement. It makes their ill-fated July 2010 trade of Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps look even worse upon reflection.