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Twins: No More Joe after 2018?


To say the least, Joe Mauer has had quite the roller coaster of a ride through his Major League career.

And now, Twins fans may be seeing the last of their hometown ‘kid’ in 2018.
Mauer’s contract expires at the end of the year, as he will finish up the 8 year/$184 million deal he signed at the beginning of the 2010 season. The St. Paul-native will go down as one of the greats in the franchise’s history, yet he could be in the category of Twins that never won a World Series in Minnesota (Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Tony Olivia, Torii Hunter, among others).

The consensus of Twins fans on Mauer these days is a love/hate relationship. Some fans continue the “he’s paid too much” talk, while others are just happy he had recovered from his concussions and has reached the end. For those that complain about his contract, I’m only going to say it once because it gets old after a while: he was worth the money at the time of the signing. Coming off an MVP season in 2009, where he missed the entire month of April due to his recovery from surgery, the former catcher hit .365, with 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in, all career-highs up to this point. He also recorded a ridiculous .444 on-base percentage. All signs at that stage in his career added up to a big pay-day, and the Twins did the right thing.


The first seven seasons of Mauer’s career looked like this: (Baseball Reference) 



  • 4-time All-Star (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)
  • 4-time Silver Slugger Award Recipient (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)
  • 3-time Gold Glove Award Recipient (2008, 2009, 2010)
  • 4-time top-10 American League MVP Vote-Getter (2006-6th, 2008-4th, 2009-1st, 2010-8th)
  • 2009 American League MVP Recipient

 The next seven years:






  • 2-time All-Star (2012, 2013)
  • Silver Slugger Award Recipient (2013)
  • Top-20 American League MVP Vote-Getter (2012)
Call it as you will, but no. 7 has built himself a steady career. Yes, the numbers and accolades have dipped, but considering the number of injuries, position change and age, Mauer has managed to perform well. Maybe not the $184 million well as many Twins fans dreamed about, but there aren’t many Major Leaguers out there that could keep up a pace like that.  
So now it’s 2018, and Mauer is set to be a free agent next season. What will the Twins do? One could say it is hard to imagine Joe anywhere else, as this is his home that he has known all his life. But if the Twins do not offer the former Cretin-Derham Hall alum a new contract, it is also difficult to picture Mauer simply hanging the cleats up for good. More likely than not, there will be suitors interested.

In 2019, the Twins have options for first base. Kennys Vargas is still hanging around the club, Miguel Sano could eventually make the permanent move to first base, and other prospects loom in the Minor Leagues.

It will be interesting to see what’s next in the Mauer-era, and every at-bat should be appreciated for someone that was a big part of the Twins’ success in the late 2000’s.

Leave your comments below on what you think is next for Mauer and the Twins! 


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