Replacing Joe Mauer at first base
With Joe Mauer’s retirement, the Twins suddenly have a hole at first base. While no perfect options exist, there are still plenty of choices for the organization.
We all knew that Joe Mauer’s retirement would come someday and now it’s actually here. The organization has to find a way to fill first base and fortunately for them, they have several options to consider. While this is not a complete list, I’ve included multiple players that could be Mauer’s replacement for Opening Day.
Miguel Sano
His move to first base is inevitable, but moving him across the infield diamond would be too early. Still just 25 years old, the hope is for Sano to still provide adequate defense at 3rd base while using 1st base for a player that’s actually incapable of fielding another position. His 2018 season was poor regardless of where he was playing, so the Twins would have to hope that another year removed from having a rod inserted into his leg would help him regain his form.
Tyler Austin
Austin enamored himself to Twins fans by knocking 9 home runs over the final month and a half of the season after joining the organization in the Lance Lynn trade. However, he strikes out as often as Sano but with fewer walks, and like Sano he doesn’t hit for much of an average, either. You can certainly do worse than Austin, but the Twins should be shooting for someone better than him as well.
Carlos Santana
Now we get to have some fun. We all remember Sano in right field after the Twins signed Byungho Park, and the Philadelphia Phillies just copied that idea when they brought Carlos Santana on board, pushing young phenom Rhys Hoskins to left field. While Hoskins’ offense has excelled, his defense in left field has been, well, not good. Thus, they would love to get him back to first base, and that would be possible with a trade of Santana. He’s owed $34.5 million over the next two years, though the Twins would want some of that covered in spite of having plenty of money to spend over the next couple seasons. Like Sano and Austin, he doesn’t hit for much of an average, but with a walk rate north of 15% for his career, he’s still generated a career OBP of .363. He’s Robbie Grossman with power, basically.
Justin Bour
Sticking with the Phillies, they have yet another first baseman but this one has no starting spot on the roster. Acquired from the Marlins in the midst of a down season, Bour became a bit of an overqualified pinch-hitter, though he didn’t put up much of a fight for more playing time as he hit just .224/.296/.347 as a Phillie. MLB Trade Rumors lists Bour as a non-tender candidate as he’s projected to earn $5.2 million via arbitration in 2019, so he’ll either be traded to a team that finds that salary palatable or could be had at a far cheaper sum if he’s indeed non-tendered. Bour struggles mightily against lefthanded pitching (career 77 wRC+) but if the Twins choose to keep Austin, they’ll be natural platoon mates.
Matt Adams
The first baseman for the Cardinals for the majority of his career, Adams received some playing time for the Nationals in 2018 while Ryan Zimmerman was on the disabled list. He’s been a slightly above-average hitter for his career, though he’s even worse than Bour against lefties as he has a career 59 wRC+. Adams has also consistently rated as a plus defender at first base in spite of being 6’3” and 245 lbs. so he’d provide an added benefit to replacing Mauer compared to some of the other names listed. Adams is also likely to be a cheap free agent, possibly even coming under the salary that Bour could make through arbitration. He’s also just 30 years old, meaning the Twins could benefit with signing him to a two-year contract.
Lucas Duda
He was good in the past, wasn’t particularly good for the Royals in 2018, and will be cheap. Your classic Terry Ryan signing. That’s about it.
Steve Pearce
A late bloomer as he broke out at 32 years old in 2014 for the Orioles. He’ll be 36 for nearly all of the 2019 season, yet is coming off a solid season as a part-timer with the Blue Jays and Red Sox, culminating with World Series MVP honors. He draws walks, strikes out the least compared to everyone else on this list, crushes lefties while being league-average against righties, and is even capable of playing the corner outfield in a pinch. Due to his age and potential part-time status, he should be relatively affordable. His handedness doesn’t platoon well with Austin though, but frankly I think he might be the best option out of everyone here.
Joe Mauer thanks everyone in his farewell press conference
Former players and managers Kent Hrbek, Glen Perkins, Paul Molitor, Ron Gardenhire, and more had lots to say about the Twins legend.
On Monday morning, Joe Mauer held a press conference addressing his official retirement from MLB. It was sad. Mauer spent about the first 15 minutes thanking everyone he’s ever met between sniffles before just opening it up to questions.
If you would like to watch the entire press conference yourself, it’s available here (It’s 35:47 minutes long,FYI):
Some of my initial take-aways from the press conference:
Jim Pohlad talked so earnestly bout watching Joe Mauer’s last game.
What kind of tie is Joe wearing?
Michael Cuddyer said, “I can’t think of someone who better represented his team, community, and city better than Joe Mauer.”
Joe has said “um” about 10 times in the first 15 seconds.
JOE HAS A STACK OF NOTE CARDS OF EVERYONE HE WANTS TO THANK.
Joe is sniffling and trying not the cry.
Joe is trying to work through the notecards.
“Billy, I’m proud I got to catch you facing your favorite player, David Ortiz, in spring training. Thank you, Gardy, for letting that happen.”
SNIFF
“WHEEWWW!” (Joe then wipes his eyes with a handkerchief).
He’s still going through these note cards.
Joe just thanked the Mayo Clinic for taking care of him.
JUST BLOW YOUR NOSE JOE. JESUS.
Awwww Joe thanked Gardy for everything.
Tom Kelly, TK. Goes without saying.
Paul Molitor. We’re still just going through people Joe Mauer is thanking.
Tony Oliva.
Kent Hrbek, Jack Morris, Tim Launder.
Glen Perkins
Corey Koskie
Justin Morneau
Terry Ryan (Joe Mauer has to pause, getting visibly emotional)
Bill Smith (for, you know, that contract)
Jerry Bell
Jim Rantz
Joe Mauer is a Mayo Clinic boy. This is at least the second time he’s thanked them.
“I started thinking seriously about retirement probably after that concussion earlier this year.”
When asked about 2006, the first thing Joe references is that is was Brad Radke’s last year. Thank god, Joe, because that is absolutely the first thing I think about that year too. At least I’m not entirely crazy.
There’s so much more, it’s just hard recording everything while you are also trying to take new Kleenex tissues out of the box. They keep ripping in half. Seriously. Can someone please design a quick-release Kleenex box? You would think they would have these by now.
Michael Cuddyer, on how much Joe Mauer meant and represented for his team:
.@mcuddy23 told @JeffJoyce19 and @stevesaxspeaks that his former @Twins teammate Joe Mauer was first-class and one-of-a-kind. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Q4aaJmsPnS
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 10, 2018
Joe had a lot to say, and a lot of people had a lot of things to say about him to.
Twin Cities native Kent Hrbek was humbled, and perturbed by Joe Mauer’s comments:
“Class act, that’s all I have to say” – @Hrbie14 on Joe Mauer pic.twitter.com/2rtcUnMnPG
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
Mauer’s former teammate, and fellow Minnesotan — who had a similarly emotional last game at Target Field — Glen Perkins, gave his thoughts:
.@glenperkins like Joe Mauer never wanted to play for anyone other than the @Twins. His reaction to Joe’s retirement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EhVF9C3Rzx
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
Former Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire was his usual self, talking about Joe in the upmost of terms:
Gardy shares some advice for Joe Mauer’s retirement and has a job offer for the former catcher, too. pic.twitter.com/LVkBlqZxvH
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
Fellow Cretin-Derham Hall Alum, Paul Molitor, shared his thoughts as well:
“The ending was so perfect.”
Paul Molitor says he’s honored to be a part of Joe Mauer’s final chapter on the field. #JM7 pic.twitter.com/OTTS1IbuJ3
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
Of course, Terry Ryan — the former Twins GM and current Phillies scout who signed Joe Mauer originally as the first overall pick, right out of high school, in 2001, gave his thoughts:
Terry Ryan drafted Joe Mauer No. 1 overall in 2001.
“Joe was one of the best high school players I’ve ever seen!” #JM7 pic.twitter.com/oO3eeTUDhe
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
I mean of course — Justin:
“He gave the @Twins everything he had every single day.” #JM7
Justin Morneau on the retirement of his former roommate and teammate: pic.twitter.com/oNJz8Cr8Zc
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
And then there is this. Just this adorable video from Joe himself. He doesn’t know what to say. He admits he doesn’t even know the gender of his incoming baby. You can see Tony Oliva just smiling away in the background… I love it.
“Unbelievable. It’s been a dream come true.”@Audra_Martin talks with Joe after his retirement press conference: pic.twitter.com/5BdY0s6DBM
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 12, 2018
God, I will miss you Joe.
P.S.
We were pulling some file video of Joe Mauer and came across this. @chipscoggins interviewing him after his 1st minor league game in Elizabethton,TN in 2001. pic.twitter.com/noeVToZ0VL
— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) November 12, 2018
My baseball memories all involve Joe Mauer
When you’re still just a teenager, it’s hard to imagine baseball without Joe Mauer.
On October 1st, 2006, I attended my first ever Twins game. The Twins were playing the White Sox, and they had a chance to clinch the AL Central that day, the final day of the season. All that had to happen was a Twins win and a Tigers loss to the Royals. The Twins win happened first. The Twins defeated the White Sox 5-1, backed by a stellar pitching performance from Carlos Silva and a 2-for-4 day from Joe Mauer. Joe clinched the batting title that day as well, hitting .347 on the season. It is a day I won’t ever forget, not just because the Twins won the division, but also because it was my first time seeing Joe Mauer in person.
Three years later, I watched Joe in awe as he had his best season ever. In 2009, Mauer had arguably the best season by a catcher of all time. He hit .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs and won the batting championship again, along with the AL MVP award. He was already my favorite Twin, and the 2009 season made me appreciate him even more. He was playing for his hometown team and taking them to new heights, and even though the Twins were swept by the Yankees in the ALDS, I will always remember the 2009 season fondly.
Fast forward to the 2017 season, and the American League Wild Card game. The Twins were playing the Yankees again, as has become common when the Twins make the postseason. Joe Mauer came up late in the game as the tying run. He hadn’t been much of a power hitter since the aforementioned 2009 season, but I kept my fingers crossed that he would hit a game tying home run and avenge all of the losses to the Yankees earlier in his career. Joe hit a ball to deep left field. It appeared to go over the wall thanks to the camera angle, however, the ball was actually caught at the wall. I briefly celebrated, since I had thought that Joe Mauer, the face of the franchise for his entire career, had just had a clutch playoff moment. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I was disappointed, but not too disappointed. As good of a story as it would have been if he actually had tied the game, I was glad that Joe was given at least a chance at glory, because he very much deserved it.
At the beginning of this season, Joe collected his 2000th hit. There was a buzz around Twins Territory as he approached the milestone. There was also kind of a sense that this was a very big deal because we didn’t know how much longer he was going to play and how many more milestones he was going to reach. When he got to 2000 hits (on a single up the middle, because that’s what Joe Mauer does), Dick Bremer exclaimed, “And the hometown kid reaches his milestone at home!” Of course he got it at home. He had to get it at home. And it was against the White Sox, a team that had been the Twins’ nemesis for most of Joe’s career. I’ve probably watched the video of hit number 2000 on YouTube many times, because it was so perfectly Joe Mauer, and it couldn’t have happened any other way.
I’m sure all of us can think of a childhood sports hero, someone who we looked up to and saw as larger than life. Joe Mauer is very much mine. He was drafted by the Twins just after I was born and is exiting the league just as I am about to become an adult. I grew up watching Joe Mauer, and maybe it’s fitting that Joe is starting a new chapter in his life at the same time that I am.
Someday, I may have children of my own, and they might love baseball just as much as I do. I will surely tell them about Joe Mauer, just as my parents have told me stories about the athletes that they grew up watching.
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