It was announced today that Joe Mauer will be turning in his mask and catchers glove for a first baseman's glove for this up coming season. As Mauer will now be the Twins everyday 1st baseman and give up his place behind the plate. This was Mauer's choice about moving to 1st, he said it was a hard choice but at the same time a real easy one as well.
With Mauer moving to 1stbase... the real question is who will be the new backstop for the Twins to open the 2014 season??? That question I don't think will be answered for a couple weeks if not months.. There is a good amount of Free Agent catchers on the market this off season.. but nothing compared to Mauer really..
The two names being tossed around with Twins fans on social media are Jarrod Saltalamacchia and former Twin A.J Pierzynski.
Saltalamacchia just won a World Series with Boston and you really think he would want to go from Wolrd Series Champ to well the Twins... most likely not.. but if the Twins offer enough to the Red Sox they might just part ways with him. Salty had a above average season for the Red Sox last season. He has .273, 14 HR's 65 RBI's and had a .338 OBP% which is pretty good on base % . Salty isn't the greatest defensive catcher in the world as we all saw in the World Series as he made some pretty dumb throws down to 3rd or wild throws around the bases.. but he would be an upgrade or the Twins until Pinto was ready to be the everyday catcher for the Twins...
Pierzynski was with the Rangers last season and has been a durable catcher in his career. He has played in a 130 games over the last 10 years which is pretty good for a catcher. He had a pretty decent stats last season with the Rangers. He hit .272, 17 HR's, 70 RBI'S and had a .297 OBP% . He would be a prefect stopgap and keep the spot behind the plate warm until Pinto was ready to be the everyday catcher for the Twins...
I would be just fine with either Salty or AJ if the contract was right ... Salty is the sthe youngest FA on the market this season at the age of 28 . Pierzynski is 37 ... The Twins in my mind only need a catcher for this season, because Pinto will be the opening day catcher in 2015 for the Twins.
my prediction is that the Twins will either get AJ or Salty.. not sure which one but I really think one of them will be the opening day catcher for the Twins when the Twins open the season in March against the White Sox.
Winter Meeting start tomorrow.... Let the stove get hotter!! It's Hot Stove time!!
until next time...
ben
With Mauer moving to 1stbase... the real question is who will be the new backstop for the Twins to open the 2014 season??? That question I don't think will be answered for a couple weeks if not months.. There is a good amount of Free Agent catchers on the market this off season.. but nothing compared to Mauer really..
The two names being tossed around with Twins fans on social media are Jarrod Saltalamacchia and former Twin A.J Pierzynski.
Saltalamacchia just won a World Series with Boston and you really think he would want to go from Wolrd Series Champ to well the Twins... most likely not.. but if the Twins offer enough to the Red Sox they might just part ways with him. Salty had a above average season for the Red Sox last season. He has .273, 14 HR's 65 RBI's and had a .338 OBP% which is pretty good on base % . Salty isn't the greatest defensive catcher in the world as we all saw in the World Series as he made some pretty dumb throws down to 3rd or wild throws around the bases.. but he would be an upgrade or the Twins until Pinto was ready to be the everyday catcher for the Twins...
Pierzynski was with the Rangers last season and has been a durable catcher in his career. He has played in a 130 games over the last 10 years which is pretty good for a catcher. He had a pretty decent stats last season with the Rangers. He hit .272, 17 HR's, 70 RBI'S and had a .297 OBP% . He would be a prefect stopgap and keep the spot behind the plate warm until Pinto was ready to be the everyday catcher for the Twins...
I would be just fine with either Salty or AJ if the contract was right ... Salty is the sthe youngest FA on the market this season at the age of 28 . Pierzynski is 37 ... The Twins in my mind only need a catcher for this season, because Pinto will be the opening day catcher in 2015 for the Twins.
my prediction is that the Twins will either get AJ or Salty.. not sure which one but I really think one of them will be the opening day catcher for the Twins when the Twins open the season in March against the White Sox.
Winter Meeting start tomorrow.... Let the stove get hotter!! It's Hot Stove time!!
until next time...
ben