Around the Horn: Feb.1, 2010.
February 1st, 2010 | by Ray Flowers |(1) Orlando Cabrera signs with Reds.
(2) Willy Taveras to A’s, then designated.
(3) Johnny Damon wants to play for Tigers?
(4) Ryan Garko signs with Mariners.
(5) Jose Reyes running sprints.
(6) Orlando Hudson still undecided – Nationals, Indians, Rockies in the mix.
(7) Joe Mauer deal all rumors at this point.
By Ray Flowers
Tags: A’s, Casey Kotchman, Indians, Joe Mauer, Johnny Damon, Jose Reyes, Mariners, Nationals, Orlando Cabrera, Orlando Hudson, Reds, Rockies, Russell Branyan, Ryan Garko, Tigers, Willy Taveras
By Jim on Feb 2, 2010
Ray, Thanks for the updates. I love Mauer as much as the next guy. He’ll obviously and deservedly be the first catcher off the board in most fantasy drafts. But the years and numbers that are being thrown around jangle me completely. I expect that he could remain a dangerous hitter for 7 or 8 years easily, but I’d have my doubts it would be from the C position. What do you think? Does the contract start to look nutty for Mauer as the 1st baseman who eventually replaces Morneau, for example?
By Ray Flowers on Feb 2, 2010
First off, 10-years for a catcher is insane. Very few catchers in baseball history have ever lasted 15 years, and even those that did certainly lost a ton of effectiveness at the dish.
Secondly, I dont know if he profiles as a great 1B I’m sure he could handle the position, and he clearly has shown himself to be a .330 hitter, but I really worry about his power. In fact, he was one of my “bust” candidates in my feature article in the Fanball Annual. If he were to hit .330-20-80 those would be terrific numbers, but are they much diff. than what Todd Helton has done for the past few years in COL?
Great guy, franchise leader and they should sign him, but 10-years and $200 mil seems like a lot to me.