Twins placed catcher Joe Mauer on trade waivers

The Minnesota Twins have placed All-Star catcher Joe Mauer on trade waivers according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Mauer signed an eight-year deal worth $184 million back in 2010 that currently has about $142.5 million remaining on the contract. Now in his 9th season, all with the Twins, Mauer is hitting .309 with 8 home runs and 66 RBIs. He earned three gold gloves and three batting titles along with winning the MVP award in 2009.

Twins fans have criticized the $184 contract, especially with Joe Mauer becoming more of a singles hitter and less of a power hitter. According to the reports, Mauer can opt-out of the contract, just in case the Twins sank to the bottom of baseball.

The revocable waivers allow the Twins to receive offers for any team, but take Mauer off the waivers if they don’t like what they see. The Red Sox and Yankees are the two most favored teams to make some sort of an offer.

Joe Mauer is a career .322 hitter with 92 home runs and 568 RBIs.