What would Mauer mean to the Yankees? Plenty. Pitching is forever the holy grail for success in major-league baseball, but a catcher — especially one who hits as well as he fields — comes right behind. The Yankees have had a distinct advantage over their competition for more than a decade with Jorge Posada’s well-above-average production, and Mauer is one of the few players in the league who could actually surpass that.
Posada’s contract expires after the 2011 season, but it is hard to imagine he will finish it playing the same number of games at catcher as he has for most of his career. Already the Yankees seem to be angling to give Posada more games at DH in 2010; assuming Hideki Matsui does not return, there will be no “regular DH” on a day-to-day basis, freeing it up for use by Posada and other players.Like Borden mentions in the article the question of whether he is willing to leave his hometown is still up in the air, but as he points out "maybe he will be unable to ignore the allure of free agency."
The Yankees do like their young catchers, particularly hot prospect Jesus Montero. Francisco Cervelli, too, showed that he can perform at the major-league level this past season.
Neither one is anything close to Mauer: an elite hitter, a skilled defender and a tireless worker. A cornerstone. Yankees fans shouldn’t bother being frustrated by what has already been with Mauer. They should just focus on what might yet be.
And as I've stated on this blog before, if Mauer is willing to leave Minnesota the Yankees should to do what they can to sign him. I like the catching prospects in the minors, but I agree with Borden that none of them are close to Mauer, and likely none of them will be.
With a borderline Hall of Fame catcher close to retiring the Yankees are going to need a replacement, and they're going to need one by 2011. Mauer is clearly going to be the best available option.
