SparkVlog

Joe Mauer could have waited until the offseason. He could have forced teams into a bidding war. He could have gone to the New York Yankees, a team that would have salivated over his services.

But even the Yankees would have been hard-pressed to give the 26-year-old catcher what the small-market Minnesota Twins rewarded their native son. It'll be $184 million over eight years with a full no-trade clause, the fourth largest contract in baseball history. And he’s worth every penny.

Even if he waited until the offseason, Mauer doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who would leave the Twins. Minnesota needed him. He is treated like a God there. Clearly, he needed them, too, which says a lot about his character and loyalty to a franchise set to open their new ballpark this season.

The front office knew not signing him would have been a big blow to their future. And after rewarding pitcher Nick Blackburn and center-fielder Denard Span with multi-year contracts this offseason, they gave their franchise player what he deserved.

Set to make $23 million annually, Mauer has been one of if not the best hitter in baseball over the past five seasons, hitting at a .327 clip with 811 hits over that span. He is coming off a year in which he hit .356 with 28 homers, 96 RBI, a 44 percent on-base percentage, 191 hits, and 30 doubles. Huge at 6′5″, 230, Mauer has not struck out more than 64 times in a full season, walking more than whiffing in every season.

He has been the ultimate leader, anchoring the middle of their dangerous order, while possessing gold glove skills behind the plate. The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is a better all-around player in my opinion, but Mauer is without a doubt a close second, receiving the contract to prove his worth.

The Twins 2010-11 payroll of $65.3 million, ranking 24th in baseball. Who knew they had $184 million to dole out to a single player?

This contract, as well as the $14 million given to Blackburn and $16 million to Span, is a definitive statement made by Minnesota financially, showing that the defending American League Central champions can win and now spend with the best of them.

ESPN’s Buster Olney, who hinted earlier today that Mauer could be signed soon by the Twins, reacts to the move :

“Mauer is generally regarded as the American League’s best player and may be baseball’s most coveted player, given his unique set of skills. Mauer, who turns 27 next month, already has won three batting titles and two Gold Glove Awards, and last year, he began to hit for power, posting a 1.031 OPS.

If Mauer had become a free agent in the fall, he probably would have been the most coveted free agent since Rodriguez reached free agency after the 2000 season. With the use of total free-agent leverage, Mauer might have commanded a deal for something in the range of $250 million in the fall.

But all along, Mauer—taken by the Twins’ No. 1 overall in the same year that Mark Prior was eligible for the draft—indicated a desire to remain with the Twins in his hometown of St. Paul surrounded by family and friends. Barring a last-minute hold-up, it appears that he will play his entire career for the Twins.

The Twins’ signing of Mauer to a long-term deal is going to be viewed as a strong development for Major League Baseball, at a time when there are growing concerns about the disparity between teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, and teams that generate less revenue like the Rays, Athletics and Twins.”

But does this limit them financially, hindering their chances of building around Mauer?

“A major challenge for the Twins—who have evolved from a small-market team into a club with a mid-range budget—will be how they can compete while paying one player such a high percentage of their payroll. The Rockies made a similar investment in Todd Helton during the last decade, and while Helton has performed well during the course of the contract, his high salary restricted Colorado from making other moves.”

Whatever future repercussions this has, it was the right deal for the Twins to make, a no-brainer $184 million shopping spree.

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