Thread: Joe Mauer 3B?

Any chance that Mauer could slide over a play some 3B if Justin Morneau can stay healthy?

Originally Posted by darin617

Any chance that Mauer could slide over a play some 3B if Justin Morneau can stay healthy?

As others have pointed out, you just don't throw him out there without any previous experience.

Originally Posted by gunnarthor

As others have pointed out, you just don't throw him out there without any previous experience.

So have him take infield for a couple weeks. It might be ugly for a while, but IMO Mauer has the tools to become a decent third baseman, and if not now--in the midst of another lost season--when?

I think everyone, including the Twins and Mauer, need to move on from the fantasy that he's going to be a full time catcher going forward. Hell, he's not a full time catcher now. He started 47 games at C last year and 19 so far this year.

Finding Joe Mauer's full time home for the next 6 years should be one of the positive results of this season. Continuing to risk his long and short term health, while in the process quite possibly hurting his offense (catching is tough on a hitters hands, knees, legs, back, etc etc) is foolhardy. 3B is an organizational need, unless Sano can be there in a few years, and gets you the best combination of positional scarcity, health, and the best likelyhood of getting 155-160 games per year out of a $23M/per player without having to shoehorn him into a DH role way more often than you'd like. The C/1B/DH thing also means he never has extended periods at any position to truly learn it defensively.

Win-win for everyone, if he can handle 3b, and it seems like he's athletic enough to give it a shot with a reasonable expectation of success.

I knew you'd be all over this one Chief

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

I knew you'd be all over this one Chief

Well, to me it has made sense for a couple years now. I think events over the past few years have at least lent credence to the idea that the Twins would have been better off getting Mauer out from behind the plate. Better late than never.

Originally Posted by USAFChief

I think events over the past few years have at least lent credence to the idea that the Twins would have been better off getting Mauer out from behind the plate. Better late than never.

And I think that his nearly flawless transition to first base lends credence to the idea that Mauer could probably pick up third and become an asset there. He's got quick reflexes and a great arm. Granted, there are lot of distinct intricacies to playing third base that he would need to learn and adjust to, but he's got excellent baseball instincts so I tend to think he'd surprise some people.

You realize that moving Mauer to 3B means a steady diet of Butera. Just sayin....

Originally Posted by gunnarthor

As others have pointed out, you just don't throw him out there without any previous experience.

What was Mauer's previous experience with 1st base? Such a gifted athlete should be able to make the transition in a few weeks at most.

No way that he plays the hot corner worse than Miguel Cabrera...

Originally Posted by mnfireman

You realize that moving Mauer to 3B means a steady diet of Butera. Just sayin....

In that case, you would be replacing Mauer with a .360 hitter.

Third base is a much more difficult position than 1st base. Mauer could do it, I agree, but the Twins are not going to do that mid-season with Valencia coming back at some point.

I've got no numbers or anything to back this up, but just from watching the game, it seems like 3b is a slightly more dangerous position than 1b. They seem to do a whole lot more diving, quick abrupt direction changes that can be rough on the body, having a lot more hard slides coming at them, etc.

I would suspect it wouldn't be so much that Mauer doesn't have the tools to play 3b, as much as he doesn't have the conditioning. It's not hard to imagine Mauer diving for a ball down the line, twisting his body quick and firing it across the diamond, and ending up on the DL for a month or more with an abdominal injury.

Both from a performance standpoint and a PR standpoint, the twins are going to take a few errors and a weak bat at 3b over Mauer on the DL any day.

Originally Posted by adjacent

In that case, you would be replacing Mauer with a .360 hitter.

And don't forget the 0.00 ERA!!

Originally Posted by mnfireman

You realize that moving Mauer to 3B means a steady diet of Butera. Just sayin....

Have you seen him hit lately? Looks like Mauer might be getting Wally Pipped.

You really expect to see Danny boy again this season? If not for no better options I would doubt he would be back by All Star break.

Originally Posted by darin617

You really expect to see Danny boy again this season? If not for no better options I would doubt he would be back by All Star break.

Yes, as he is hitting in Rochester right now. There is no way they are just going to throw him down there until the All-Star break.

This is a good fit for a few reasons.
First, it solves (to the extent possible) the health problems Mauer will face by catching forever.
Second, this is Mauer we are talking about -- I have every confidence he can learn the position (not during the season, as some have suggested; this will take months, not weeks). This is the same guy that was pretty darn good at football and basketball; my guess is he can learn the hot corner.
Third, aside from Valencia, we don't have anyone who is a big plus at 3B next year, or even the year after. Miguel Sano, even if he doesn't grow out of the position and learns to field adequately, is still a couple years out at the earliest.

I think it's the kind of thing, if it happens, where he starts taking some grounders there later this season, works on it over the winter in Ft. Myers, and makes it part of his game in 2013, along with catching, 1B and wherever else he can play to get in 145 games a year.

Mauer could easily transition to 3rd base given the athlete that he is. I do believe Valencia will get another shot with the team, although not until he deserves it, which I think he's capable of achieving. It's going to take better than the .200 he's hitting now so I don't think him being down their beyond the AS break is a big stretch.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

Yes, as he is hitting in Rochester right now. There is no way they are just going to throw him down there until the All-Star break.

Why not? Until he can quit chasing bad pitches and play a better all round game it would best serve him to stay so he actually realizes there are no handouts here. If you look at his career stats he is really nothing special.

The reason that most people don't think that Miguel Sano will be able to stay at 3B is becasue he will become to big and tall... Joe Mauer is already tall. I could be wrong, but I think that Mauer at 3B would be a mess. It's 100% completely different than playing 1B. I could be wrong, bu I'd want him to spend an offseason playing nothing but 3B and spend all of spring training playing there before throwing him out there.