What to do at catcher?

[Cocos Disciples]

A-Rod is a terrible example. The Yankees jumped in after the league vetoed the trade. If the league approved it, he was ours.

[Dipre]

A-Rod is a terrible example. The Yankees jumped in after the league vetoed the trade. If the league approved it' date=' he was ours.[/quote']

 

Not to mention Dice-K.

 

The FO WANTED HIM, so they blew everyone else out of the water with a f***ing nuke.

[PWNdroia]

Not to mention Dice-K.

 

The FO WANTED HIM, so they blew everyone else out of the water with a f***ing nuke.

 

I think it's safe to say the Yanks didn't think Dice-K would pan out to be one of the best pitchers. I'd have to agree. You can never tell with a foreign player.

 

The Yanks can overpay us for any proven player that has already played in the Majors.

 

We can still get Mauer, but I see him and Paps in a Yanks uniform very soon.

[Dipre]

I think it's safe to say the Yanks didn't think Dice-K would pan out to be one of the best pitchers. I'd have to agree. You can never tell with a foreign player.

 

The Yanks can overpay us for any proven player that has already played in the Majors.

 

We can still get Mauer, but I see him and Paps in a Yanks uniform very soon.

 

The Yanks put out a huge offer out there, sir.

[PWNdroia]

The Yanks put out a huge offer out there' date=' sir.[/quote']

 

But they could have gone higher. They did so for Tex when the opportunity came later on.

 

Still we can compete with the Yanks in money, but there's no guarantee anything will go our way. They still have a lot of money.

[The_Destroyah]

we have just as good of a chance as the Yanks IMO, the reason we missed out on Tex was because Theo was being conservative and didnt feel the need to spend the money on something that we didnt absolutely need for a spot that it is easy to find offensive prowress, Mauer is a catcher and something we need much more and something I think Theo will be much less conservative with.

[Dipre]

we have just as good of a chance as the Yanks IMO' date=' the reason we missed out on Tex was because Theo was being conservative and didnt feel the need to spend the money on something that we didnt absolutely need for a spot that it is easy to find offensive prowress, Mauer is a catcher and something we need much more and something I think Theo will be much less conservative with.[/quote']

 

Sweet Lord, the light of reason.

[RWTP24]

A-Rod is a terrible example. The Yankees jumped in after the league vetoed the trade. If the league approved it' date=' he was ours.[/quote']

 

What did they vetoed?? Did I miss something back them? lol

[The_Destroyah]

Sweet Lord' date=' the light of reason.[/quote']

 

Im not saying that we do end up acquring him just that we have just as much of a chance as the Yanks, I dont like how people think the Yankees dictate who gets who from the FA market, The Yankees have an upper hand in any bid war, but just because the get into a bid war doesnt mean they win automatically, believe it or not even the Yankees dont sign every FA, they had a big year last year but they also know that they have a great chance at WS titles without Mauer, Thats why they felt comfortable spending a kings ransom on everyone this year, I expect that the Yanks will be a little more conservative in the next few off seasons.

[RWTP24]

we have just as good of a chance as the Yanks IMO' date=' the reason we missed out on Tex was because Theo was being conservative and didnt feel the need to spend the money on something that we didnt absolutely need for a spot that it is easy to find offensive prowress, Mauer is a catcher and something we need much more and something I think Theo will be much less conservative with.[/quote']

 

This is wrong.

 

We have a better chance than them. We have pitching and they don't. Plus are offense is on fire. Everyone beside Papi is hitting over .300 this month, if I am not mistaken.

[Dojji]

This is wrong.

 

We have a better chance than them. We have pitching and they don't. Plus are offense is on fire. Everyone beside Papi is hitting over .300 this month, if I am not mistaken.

 

He was specifically talking about our chance to get Mauer.

[example1]

we have just as good of a chance as the Yanks IMO' date=' the reason we missed out on Tex was because Theo was being conservative and didnt feel the need to spend the money on something that we didnt absolutely need for a spot that it is easy to find offensive prowress, Mauer is a catcher and something we need much more and something I think Theo will be much less conservative with.[/quote']

 

I think it is time we are accurate with the retelling of this story As far as everyone can tell, John Henry was the one who didn't get the Tex deal done. Theo can only offer what Henry offers, and IIRC Henry was the one sitting with Tex when the deal fell apart.

 

Mauer will be different from Dice-K because Dice-K was the Red Sox posession as soon as they bid the highest and the blind bidding closed.

 

Mauer will undoubtedly draw lots of interest from the Yankees whether or not they have a catching problem. I think Mauer will be signed as if he is a C/DH/1B ultimately. Looking into his future, no team would be stupid enough to demand that he remain at catcher if he can be injured and unavailable.

 

I personally think he would be a great fit for the Sox too. If they can resign V-Mart then they could split time between V-Mart and Mauer behind the plate, have Mauer play DH and C, and they can still find a 1B who can plan most of the time or DH most of the time if V-Mart is more durable/better fielder. That would offer lots of flexibility, obviously.

 

Mauer should probably warrant a $20m+ deal. His injury history is concerning and would push a lot of NL teams away from that salary, but if he can just be placed as a DH this guy could just be one of the games best hitters for years.

 

The Sox currently only have $43 million accounted for for the 2011 season. That's about $80m less than they are spending now. They will have money to spend and won't have Lowell, Ortiz and Beckett on the books (though they may resign Beckett).

[Cocos Disciples]

What did they vetoed?? Did I miss something back them? lol

 

It was a money issue.

[RWTP24]

It was a money issue.

 

Oh ok.. I think I knew that.

[RWTP24]

He was specifically talking about our chance to get Mauer.

 

 

Oh ok.

 

When is Mauer a FA?

[example1]

Oh ok.

 

When is Mauer a FA?

 

After 2010.

 

I think there's a good chance MN keeps him, to be honest.

 

I think otherwise he will have to be traded, and the Sox would need to land him to see if they could resign him longer term (a la Santana).

 

Mauer is a hero in Minnesota. He was a HS football and baseball star in St. Paul and they were more than thrilled to draft him. They are opening a new park next year and I'm sure they would love to have a franchise marquee player to build around. It probably won't be Justin Morneau.

 

That said, at $20m he would be about 30% of their payroll.

[RWTP24]

So, with what are you saying, it is not going to happen. lol

[Dojji]

What he's saying is, the Twins are a factor. Even the Twins can pony up for the right player. Is that Mauer? We'll find out I guess.

[The_Destroyah]

So' date=' with what are you saying, it is not going to happen. lol[/quote']

 

I think he was just mentioning that MN might be more of a threat to grab him than people think, especially if he is willing to take a bit of a hometown discount, and I do agree that MN will certainly be a factor.

[RWTP24]

What he's saying is' date=' the Twins are a factor. Even the Twins can pony up for the right player. Is that Mauer? We'll find out I guess.[/quote']

 

I am saying, the Sox are not going to give up what they would need to get him.

[The_Destroyah]

I think the sox will be willing to spend quite a bit ...

[RWTP24]

I think the sox will be willing to spend quite a bit ...

 

Reallly?

 

For some reason, I don't see them spending as much as it would take to pick him up. With that said, I would love to have him if we did not have to give up Buchholz or Lester because I have a feeling they will want one of them.

[example1]

I think he was just mentioning that MN might be more of a threat to grab him than people think' date=' especially if he is willing to take a bit of a hometown discount, and I do agree that MN will certainly be a factor.[/quote']

 

Also they're more likely to wait to try to work out a deal with them and he's less likely to say "I absolutely do not want to be a Twin"... much less likely than Santana or Hunter. I can't imagine them trading him before this season starts, with the new park and all. I also can't imagine him resigning with the team that trades for him because he will only have 2 months until FA.

 

If that's the case then any team that trades for him is taking a pretty big chance of losing him quickly thereafter.

 

I guess after thinking about it, the most reasonable thing will probably be Mauer becoming a FA with the understanding that the Twins will be working to resign him. They will have him for the entire year and either get draft picks or resign him. If he's decided he wants to leave Minnesota early enough to be traded, then he's really likely to want to be a FA, not just sign with whatever team randomly trades for him--think Teixeira and the Angels last year. That's not a deal that calls for a Buchholz.

[The_Destroyah]

Also they're more likely to wait to try to work out a deal with them and he's less likely to say "I absolutely do not want to be a Twin"... much less likely than Santana or Hunter. I can't imagine them trading him before this season starts, with the new park and all. I also can't imagine him resigning with the team that trades for him because he will only have 2 months until FA.

 

If that's the case then any team that trades for him is taking a pretty big chance of losing him quickly thereafter.

 

I guess after thinking about it, the most reasonable thing will probably be Mauer becoming a FA with the understanding that the Twins will be working to resign him. They will have him for the entire year and either get draft picks or resign him. If he's decided he wants to leave Minnesota early enough to be traded, then he's really likely to want to be a FA, not just sign with whatever team randomly trades for him--think Teixeira and the Angels last year. That's not a deal that calls for a Buchholz.

agreed, I dont think it would be wise to rent a player that is wanting to test the FA, especially when the price will be that steep, I say we just duke it out when he does hit the FA and be willing to spend whatever it takes (relatively speaking, not talking about anything too ridiculous)

[BoSox21]

Thing about Mauer is, any team willing to spend the kind of coin it would take to get him probably won't keep him at catcher for very long due to injury and wear-down risks. That being said, will a team spend that much on a 1B/DH who has had one season of 15+ homers?

[Dipre]

Thing about Mauer is' date=' any team willing to spend the kind of coin it would take to get him probably won't keep him at catcher for very long due to injury and wear-down risks. That being said, will a team spend that much on a 1B/DH who has had one season of 15+ homers?[/quote']

 

For us it'd be the perfect storm if we extend V-Mart.

 

V-Mart/Mauer sharing catcher/1B duties *drools*

[BoSox21]

that would definitely work

[Dojji]

Wow. that would be incredible.

 

And Papi would be moving on at the perfect time to mix a lot of DH time in for both hitters.

[Dipre]

I am not afraid to admit that idea gave me a hard-on.

 

Carry on.

[BoSox21]

yea, and you can probably get a 1B/DH to play sparingly for cheap