Minnesota Twins not concerned about Joe Mauer
The Minnesota Twins are not concerned about the most recent injury to befall star catcher Joe Mauer. The oft-injured fan favorite was taken out of the seventh inning yesterday against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Twins general manager Terry Ryan said he is not too concerned about the bruised right quad injury that Mauer suffered during a collision at the plate with Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks.
Terry Ryan told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “It’s not anything we need to worry about. There’s still some tightness, but I think he’ll be OK in the near future.”
Ryan said that Matt Capps and Joe Mauer will be day-to-day, but he is not too concerned about either injury and believes that neither will hit the disabled list. Capps was not able to pitch over the weekend due to a sore shoulder, and it is great to hear that neither the Twins closer nor one of their best players will be out for a long time and that the GM is optimistic about both injuries.
Joe Mauer has been worth 2.1 WAR this season and is getting back on track after a subpar 1.6 WAR season in 2011. He only played in 82 games last year, and he has played in 60 this year and is on pace for another 5 WAR season (5.5 WAR in 2010). His wRC+ is back up to 136, and he is drawing more walks than ever. His .355 BABIP will likely come down to around .342 (near his career average), but he should still have a great season in an expected bounce back year.
Meanwhile, Capps has been worth around the replacement level this season after an awful -0.4 WAR campaign in 2011. The Twins paid too much to re-sign him in the offseason, and he is one of the worst closers in baseball. He had excellent back-to-back breakout seasons in 2007 and 2008 with another great year in 2010, but he was awful in 2009 and 2011. Capps can be great, but he is inconsistent. Still, the Twins need him, as he is still one of their better relievers and is lights out when at his best.
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