Could Be A Big Weekend

Twins executives should be gearing up for a busy weekend about now, as they enter the final negotiation push with Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer. Mauer's arbitration hearing is set for Tuesday, February 13; Cuddyer's is set for Thursday, February 15. As of last week, the Twins were reportedly talking with Mauer about a 4 year, $33 million deal, and that seems to be about in the neighborhood that you would expect the AL Batting Champion and one of the best (if not the best) catchers in baseball to get. It would also remove the year-to-year worry about going through the arbitration process, and keep Mauer a Twin for at least one year beyond when he could first become a free agent. For the record, I expect a multi-year deal with Mauer to get done before Tuesday.

As for Cuddyer - well, I expect the Twins to either come to a midpoint agreement or take Cuddyer to a hearing. There seems to be little reason to lock up Cuddyer to a multi-year deal at this point, and a one-year contract (either negotiated or arbitrated) seems the most likely scenario.

Let's hope the Twins make some good news this weekend and get these deals out of the way - then they can move on to Santana! (And yes, that's probably just wishful thinking).