The Twins absolutely, unequivocally, categorically (insert one more adverb here) had to sign Joe Mauer to an extension and they were successful as the two sides have agreed to an eight-year, $184 million contract. Mauer is such an outwardly nice guy it sometimes feels like he's working for tips, making this a rare instances where you feel as though a baseball player actually deserves this kind of obesely amount of money. Mauer gets to stay in his hometown, where he is comfortable and beloved, but he didn't exactly give the Twins a hometown discount. Minnesota wisely signed Mauer before he became a free agent, avoiding what would have been an outright bidding war between the Twins, Yankees, Red Sox and possibly the Mets. Nevertheless, I doubt he would have received much more annually than he did from the Twins with the $200 million mark in the open market being a threshold I couldn't foresee any team crossing. Mauer gives up that free market opportunity, but I see no real downside for him to take this deal for the following reasons: 1. Replicating his 2009 season in which he hit for an OPS of 1.031 (95 points higher than his previous best in 2006) will be difficult for Mauer in 2010. He enters the season with a career OPS of .892 (136 OPS+), which places him just outside the top-20 active hitters with at least 3000 plate appearances (1). 2. Mauer has routinely missed handfuls of games due to injury here and there throughout his career. His career high in games played was in 2008 with 146, but that came after a 2007 in which he played in 109 games. 3. Remaining in Minnesota appeared to be his first and second options anyways. 4. He also receives a full no trade clause, which gives him piece of mind for where he will be and also gives him enough leverage to pick his destination as if he was a free agent again anyways should the Twins ever need to trade him. While the Twins didn't have any other option but to get this deal done, they are clearly the ones taking on all of the risk. The Twins are guaranteeing an an annual average of $23 million per year, which will comprise anywhere between 18%-25% of their payroll. MLB teams that have had a single player eating up that huge of a chunk of their overall payroll have had difficulty fielding a competitive team (2). Mauer is undoubtedly one of the best players in the game given the purity of his hitting, defensive ability behind the plate and his freakish athleticism. But I wouldn't call Mauer an outright sure thing the way I would Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez in 2000, or Hanley Ramirez. The biggest concerns about this eight-year deal is how long Mauer can healthfully stay at catcher and also if he can sustain his 2009 uptick in the power department. Mauer had an excellent 2008 where he finished fourth in MVP voting with an .864 OPS and nine homers; if his home run total dips back down to that level, he will still be one of the game's best hitters but also overpaid. To Mauer's credit, there aren't many other players I would pick before him to build a franchise around. I would prefer Pujols and Hanley absolutely, but the drop-off after that is significant, leaving Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Adrian Gonzalez, Evan Longoria and Grady Sizemore as the only others in his age range where someone could make an argument over Mauer. It seems like we are seeing the Twins enter a new stage in their franchise's history where spending money is no longer anathema to ownership. The new ballpark will help and having Mauer for the first eight years of the park until he's in his mid-30's will also help. We have seen them loosen up the purse strings and they apparently will continue the trend beyond Mauer, because committing that money to him would be illogical if it meant creating a situation where you were consistently losing your best talent as it entered its free agency years. Nevertheless, the Twins won't all of a sudden become the Yankees or Red Sox and they won't be able to reach the postseason annually because they won't have enough depth to withstand multiple injuries. But I expect Bill Smith to put in genius drafts, because frankly, he'll have to. Mauer's odds of winning a championship won't be as high in Minnesota as it would be in one of those big markets, but one title with the Twins would equal two or three somewhere else in terms of significance to the fan base. Mauer has a chance to not only become the best catcher of all-time, but also one of the most important and famous Minnesotans of all-time and unlike Robert Zimmerman, he won't be leaving for New York. It is a good day for the MLB that Mauer has signed this extension with the Twins, even though it creates a new salary benchmark that Pujols will soon obliterate. Grade for Joe Mauer: A+ Grade for Twins: A- Notes 1.) Mauer has 2,994 career plate appearances. 2.) See Texas Rangers and Alex Rodriguez between 2001 and 2003.

The Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer have agreed on the richest contract ever for a catcher, an eight-year, $184 million deal. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and begins in 2011, meaning he could be a Twin through the 2018 season.

The Tigers announced Saturday morning that they've re-signed Casey Fien to a minor-league contract, three weeks and two teams after they designated him for assignment to make room for Johnny Damon on the roster. Boston claimed him on March 1, but no sooner did Fien report to their big league camp than the Red Sox tried to get him through waivers. The Blue Jays then claimed him March 4, and Fien headed back up I-75 to report to camp with them. Then Toronto released him on Thursday.

Alan Embree signed a minor league contract with Boston, and was at spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla., for his physical Friday. Embree has also been invited to Boston's major league camp as a non-roster player. "After stretching, we'll see if he's ready for a bullpen session,'' Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He was trying to get ready for spring training, and when nothing happened, he took about a week off. But he's been back and throwing again.''

Mark Reynolds and the Diamondbacks have reached agreement on a three-year deal worth $14.5 million that includes an $11 million team option for 2013. If the option is picked up, the deal would cover all three of Reynolds? arbitration-eligible seasons. Reynolds will receive a $1 million signing bonus and earn $500,000 this season, $5 million in 2011 and $7.5 million in 2012. The 2013 option has a $500,000 buyout. The 26-year-old Reynolds smashed 44 home runs with 102 RBIs last season, numbers that if replicated could have been costly for the Diamondbacks in arbitration.

The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Kris Benson to a minor league deal, adding starting pitching depth to the organization as Brandon Webb slowly works his way back from shoulder surgery. Benson will make $650,000 if he?s in the big leagues and has a chance to earn another $100,000 based on games started. He gets $25,000 each for reaching 5, 10, 15 and 20 starts.

The Twins have signed starting pitcher Nick Blackburn to a four-year, $14 million contract. The deal includes an $8 million team option for the 2014 season. Blackburn has gone 11-11 in each of the last two seasons.

The Mets signed reliever Kiko Calero to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training on Thursday. Manager Jerry Manuel said he isn't very familiar with the veteran right-hander just yet, but the hope is that he can develop into an option to pitch the seventh or eighth inning out of the bullpen for the club. Considering the solid season Calero had in 2009, it's the type of low-risk, high-reward signing the Mets needed for a relief corps that's already hurting. "He had a very good year last year, and to be able to bring a guy like that on a Minor League deal to potentially compete in our bullpen, I think it's a good sign," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "That's going to be up to Jerry as far as how they decide [where Calero is deployed], but he's definitely going to be a guy that is going to be in the mix for the bullpen."

The Dodgers signed Garret Anderson to a minor league contract Wednesday night. Anderson, 37, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and grew into a star outfielder with the Angels, is expected to compete with Brian Giles and Doug Mientkiewicz for one spot on the Dodgers' bench. If he makes the team, Anderson will earn $550,000, with up to $200,000 possible in incentive bonuses.

The Royals have signed former No. 1 overall pick Luke Hochevar to a one-year contract worth $1.76 million. He was coming off a $5.3 million, four-year contract that included a $3.5 million signing bonus. Hochevar will make $772,500 if his plays in the minors. He was 7-13 in 25 starts for Kansas City last year with an ERA of 6.55.