The Minnesota Twins' catcher Joe Mauer cleared waivers and is practically on the market for any teams interested.
The 2012 All-Star catcher is having a strong season hitting. 309 with 8 home runs and 66 RBI in the season. He has a .403 on-base percentage and has as many strikeouts as walks with 70.
So what is the catch with Joe Mauer if his production and numbers are superb?
Contract.
He does not become a free agent until 2019 and he is owed $23 million for the next six years. By then, he will not likely be a catcher since he is already experiencing issues and will be 35 when his contract is up.
Analysts do not believe any team will pick up his contract, despite there being many teams who can use a catcher.
Automatically the New York Mets come to mind. They need somebody to back up David Wright in the lineup and they do not have a good hitting catcher.
However, Sandy Alderson will likely not like the price to pay for an aging catcher that will likely be playing first base in a few years.
The Los Angeles Dodgers always seem to be in talks with teams trying to move players, but again too much money after they loaded up with Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
