Mauer, what to do?

[Mike Sixel]

I'm willing to concede that my first choice, cut him, is not going to happen. He also is not moving back to catcher, please don't say "move him back to catcher". Unless he's part of some kind of bizarre world trade that a: he approves, and b: contains bad contracts coming back, he's also NOT being traded.

 

Not being cut

Not being a catcher

Not being traded.......

 

What would you do with Mauer at this point for next year?*

 

*in the spirit of the Hunter thread.....

[TheLeviathan]

I don't think there is a good solution other than pray he becomes semi-valuable again.

 

I don't even think we can hope for a part-time role unless he vocally volunteers for it.

[Loosey]

Hope he goes and loses his mind during Spring Training and punches Ricky Nolasco in the jaw for saying that he doesn't think "Atmosphere" is a great hip hop group because they are from Minnesota.  Nolasco is out for the year, again, and Mauer's contract is terminated due to conduct a clause where I assume violence towards teammates is not tolerated on any level.

 

IF that doesn't happen.  Big IF.  Bite the bullet and start to platoon him at 1st base with Sano/Plouffe/ possibly Kepler next year. 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Hope he goes and loses his mind during Spring Training and punches Ricky Nolasco in the jaw for saying that he doesn't think "Atmosphere" is a great hip hop group because they are from Minnesota.  Nolasco is out for the year, again, and Mauer's contract is terminated due to conduct a clause where I assume violence towards teammates is not tolerated on any level.

 

IF that doesn't happen.  Big IF.  Bite the bullet and start to platoon him at 1st base with Sano/Plouffe/ possibly Kepler next year. 

 

this post is going to be very hard to top.......

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'm willing to concede that my first choice, cut him, is not going to happen. He also is not moving back to catcher, please don't say "move him back to catcher". Unless he's part of some kind of bizarre world trade that a: he approves, and b: contains bad contracts coming back, he's also NOT being traded.

 

Not being cut

Not being a catcher

Not being traded.......

 

What would you do with Mauer at this point for next year?*

 

*in the spirit of the Hunter thread.....

 

Play him,  bat him 2nd or somewhere. 

[Linus]

Grit your teeth, try to smile and watch him play first base for the foreseeable future....and hope that somehow he bounces back a little bit.

 

There is nothing that can be done about it.  And like my old man used to tell me "if you can't change something you don't like, then change your attitude about it".

[Otto von Ballpark]

I'd start by just moving him back to his catching playing time.  Give him a full day or two off per week.  It's not a benching, not a platoon, not a part time role, just a slight reduction from his career-high rate of games started and plate appearances this year.  It's a logical consequence of having career-worst seasons two years in a row.  (You could even leave him in the #2-#3 spots in the order for now, which is a much less important battle than playing time.)

 

If he doesn't bounce back over the next year or so, our current 3B/DH/OF options give us some latitude to scale his playing time back a bit further without much fuss.

[James]

Hope he goes and loses his mind during Spring Training and punches Ricky Nolasco in the jaw for saying that he doesn't think "Atmosphere" is a great hip hop group because they are from Minnesota.  Nolasco is out for the year, again, and Mauer's contract is terminated due to conduct a clause where I assume violence towards teammates is not tolerated on any level.

 

IF that doesn't happen.  Big IF.  Bite the bullet and start to platoon him at 1st base with Sano/Plouffe/ possibly Kepler next year. 

 

this post is going to be very hard to top.......

I don't think that one will be topped.

 

I was just going to make a joke about moving him back to catcher, cutting him, then resigning him only to trade him.   But this comment wouldn't have come close to the brilliance.  

 

I think you just play him at 1b.  That's about all you can do really.  I personally think he's going to come back a bit this year.  Maybe get that OPS+  back about 100 (probably not by much this year).  I know that 1b should have better production than that, but he's not just going to quit or take a part time role yet.  I hope he still has some gas in the tank. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

Stick a fork in him

 

Honestly, not much you can do.  He's under contract.  The team could technically make him play catcher, though I think there'd be quite a bit of controversy there, and I just don't see that happening.

 

Honestly, if there's a solution, it might be to transition him to the OF.  I cannot imagine him being a bad defender in the corner (probably average), but it would open up a means to keep Plouffe and Sano in the lineup every day, let Arcia DH, and then use Rosario or Kepler as a means to give each OF an night off at least once a week as well as provide a nice late inning defensive sub.  I'm not quite sure how that would work if Kepler, Arcia, Rosario, Buxton, and Hicks are all doing well enough to force playing time, but I think that solves a problem in 2016.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Play him,  bat him 2nd or somewhere. 

 

I'm just curious, but are you expecting him to be even close to league average next year?

 

Also, should it be up to Mauer, or should the organization make the decisions? (this is aimed at everyone, not Seth).

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

I'm just curious, but are you expecting him to be even close to league average next year?

 

Also, should it be up to Mauer, or should the organization make the decisions? (this is aimed at everyone, not Seth).

It might help if someone within the organization, Mauer or anybody else, would acknowledge that maybe just maybe the old Mauer is never coming back. The sooner we admit that, the better, and then if we do get a great Mauer season again that will be a huge bonus. Send some signal, drop some talking points, drop him in the order, somebody do something at least before spring training starts again.

 

I can get behind moving him to the outfield even though he is currently replacement level and probably a liability at any position as it now stands.

[Zachary]

For starters, I would go into next year committed to moving him out of his enshrined 3-hole.

[lukeduke1980]

Can he go into the offseason and work on lateral quickness, do heat yoga or something, and come into camp 2016 ready to compete for starting SS?  The guy was an athlete, right?  

[Mike Sixel]

 

Can he go into the offseason and work on lateral quickness, do heat yoga or something, and come into camp 2016 ready to compete for starting SS?  The guy was an athlete, right?  

 

The Jeter plan! Another great post.

[USAFChief]

I concur with the the consensus...there isn't much that can actually be done except cross your fingers that 2016 Mauer is once again a valuable offensive force.

 

I do agree with Zachary (smart poster!) that one thing that could be done is go into 2016 with a legit option for the 3rd spot in the batting order. That isn't going to be easy, cheap, or found internally. But pretending Mauer is that guy is a bad idea, IMO, so find a way to get it done.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

Can he go into the offseason and work on lateral quickness, do heat yoga or something, and come into camp 2016 ready to compete for starting SS?  The guy was an athlete, right?  

Bi-lateral leg quickness? 

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

What I would do ...

 

August 12th thru 31st - Continue playing him at first, but increase his days off giving Sano or Plouffe more games there. DO NOT BAT HIM 3rd UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!!!! Anywhere above 6th is probably too generous at this point.

 

September 1st thru the end of the season - Call up Kepler and Vargas. They get shared time at 1st with Kepler seeing some action in the OF. Mauer shares time with them as well as Sano at DH.

 

Spring Training 2016 - Open the 1st Base job for competition. Mauer is on equal footing with Vargas and Kepler. Whoever wins the job wins the job.

 

2016 Season Opener - Mauer either starts at 1st or serves as a PH/defensive replacement.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'm just curious, but are you expecting him to be even close to league average next year?

 

Also, should it be up to Mauer, or should the organization make the decisions? (this is aimed at everyone, not Seth).

 

I don't know what to expect from him. But knowing he's not getting traded and he's not moving to catcher, the only other option is the bench, and that's not likely either. Especially since he's still one of the better offensive players (or at least on-base guys) on the roster. 

 

Unless Mauer chooses to retire, the only option is for Molitor to play him less... And right now, I don't see need for that. 

[notoriousgod71]

The ironic thing is any other year this would have worked itself out when he got injured, but this is somehow the year he has remained healthy enough to play.

[Rosterman]

What you do with slumping players, you give them three at bats a game instead of four. Move him down in the order.

 

You also rest him,depending on where you are in the wild card race, and give Kepler (doubtful...he'll stay in Chattanooga for the playoffs) and Vargas and maybe Plouffe (so you can play Sano at third) time at first. 

 

Mauer and Hunter on the bench in September? Dream on, Joel! Wish could add Susucki to that mix, too.

 

Come spring, Joe has to fight for playing time. He's in the mix, but the best guy starts, the better guys bat higher in the order. We got three more years of Joe.

 

I still believe shaving the beard will make him the old Joe!

 

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

The ironic thing is if the Twins remaining in WC contention, there's no way Molitor or Ryan have the brass to give Vargas or Kepler or Sano or Plouffe more time. Mauer will keep batting 3rd because, you know, that's what would have gotten them there.

[mudcat14]

Grit your teeth, try to smile and watch him play first base for the foreseeable future....and hope that somehow he bounces back a little bit.

 

There is nothing that can be done about it.  And like my old man used to tell me "if you can't change something you don't like, then change your attitude about it".

I was gonna insert the most famously insensitive Bobby Knight quote here, but don't wanna get banned. Sufficed to say, we must accept the inevitable and hope Joe enjoys some sort of revival as he gets further from his 2013 concussion. On a positive note, he has enjoyed an unprecedented run of good health since he forgot how to hit.

[Linus]

 

The ironic thing is if the Twins remaining in WC contention, there's no way Molitor or Ryan have the brass to give Vargas or Kepler or Sano or Plouffe more time. Mauer will keep batting 3rd because, you know, that's what would have gotten them there.

Sano and Plouffe are in the lineup every night.  And if the question is, who will contribute more in the next month to help the Twins get a WC Mauer, Vargas or Kepler?  Pretty much for sure it would be Mauer.

[COtwin]

I like giving him one or two days off. Moving Plouffe to first and Sano to third on those days. Either Vargas or arcia if he starts hitting, play DH . Robinson down. I think Mauer's affinity for GIDPs and weak slugging make his slight lead in OBP irrelevant. He should be batting just ahead of Suzuki or behind. I have seen a few comments about if he accepts less PT or an altered role. Since when does he have anything to do with the decision ? I would think what is best for the team is priority. I would like nothing better than for Plouffe to be full time 1st and see if Sano can hang at 3rd for the rest of the year. I want to see if arcia and Vargas can hit during September well enough to factor next year. Kepler up for sure. Mauer and to an extent hunter are in the way. We are stuck with Mauer's Millions but that doesn't mean he needs to remain one of the faces of the franchise.

[jorgenswest]

The Twins are getting a 93 wRC+ from 1B. The median is 115. Only catcher looks to be a greater deficit relative to positional league average.

 

If the Twins want to win they need to fix 1B and C. Mauer should be in competition for the fix at 1B. They can't keep playing him there if he can't produce near a league median 1B.

[Ultima Ratio]

Sneak some PEDs into his system.

 

1. He doesn't get caught and the PEDs work their PED magic.

 

2.  He gets caught and the management gets to avoid a tough decision not to start him.

 

Win/Win

 

 

Or, he could learn to hit with his lower half and stand 4 inches close to the plate.

[stringer bell]

Seriously, if Joe Mauer is still a .715 OPS player at this time next year, the Twins should consider negotiating his retirement. Pay him a good portion of his money to retire and maybe make appearances for the team.

 

He's a proud athlete who's experienced an incredible amount of individual success. Does he want to continue on as a below-average first baseman?

[SwainZag]

 

Seriously, if Joe Mauer is still a .715 OPS player at this time next year, the Twins should consider negotiating his retirement. Pay him a good portion of his money to retire and maybe make appearances for the team.

 

He's a proud athlete who's experienced an incredible amount of individual success. Does he want to continue on as a below-average first baseman?

 

2K hits in sight, a team that should be heading towards contention, nearly $50M dollars on the table in your last 2 years of his deal...yeah........I see zero chance he retires unless he becomes a completely useless player and liability.  

[Jham]

 

Seriously, if Joe Mauer is still a .715 OPS player at this time next year, the Twins should consider negotiating his retirement. Pay him a good portion of his money to retire and maybe make appearances for the team.

 

He's a proud athlete who's experienced an incredible amount of individual success. Does he want to continue on as a below-average first baseman?

 

Negotiate retirement?  What's to negotiate?  His contract is guaranteed.  Why on earth would he agree to give money back?  He'd be the first player to do so, it would only highlight his decline, and further humiliate him.  The chances of him retiring are a fraction of a fraction of the options we're not allowed to propose on this thread.  However, you did hit on a couple points: pride and below-avg at the position.  Would he accept either of those roles?  Would other more forbidden options start to look more appealing?  

[Thegrin]

Move Mauer to the 7th spot in the batting order now!

 

1. Hicks (S)

2. Dozier (R )

3. Rosario (L) <<<

4. Sano (R )

5. Plouffe  (R )

6. Hunter (R )

7. Mauer (L) <<<

8. Suzuki (R )

9. Escobar (S)

 

this way our 4 fastest players are batting consecutively.

Hunter has Mauer batting behind him.

Mauer doesn't really need a top hitter batting behind him.