Joe Mauer day to day with back spasms
By Hayden Kane
The Minnesota Twins might have to find somebody else to not swing at pitches in the middle of their lineup for the next couple days.
Star catcher turned first baseman Joe Mauer is day t0 day after being forced to sit out Monday night’s game with back spasms. Per Stephen Ellsesser of MLB.com:
"Minnesota’s All-Star first baseman left in the top of the third inning Sunday. Mauer received treatment from the training staff before Monday’s game, and the team announced that he was feeling and moving better.”"
It sounds like it might only be another day or two out of the lineup for the man whose patient approach at the plate has set the tone for a Twins offense that is swinging less than any lineup in baseball.
Mauer is off to a solid start in 2014, batting a very Mauer-esque .296/.393/.374. That final mark, the .374 slugging percentage, tends to raise the blood pressure of the kind people of Minnesota given the significant salary that Mauer collects annually. Still, his elite on-base skills mean that he creates plenty of offense. To wit: Mauer batted .324/.404/.476 in 113 games. He had only 11 home runs and 47 RBI, yet he was a 5 win player according to FanGraphs (5.2 fWAR). His value will change slightly now that he plays first base, but the point remains the same.
That is elite offense, and the Twins should happily take it once he is back in the lineup.