Joe Mauer wants Buster Posey to catch as long as he can

San Francisco Giants’ catcher Buster Posey finds himself in a unique and challenging situation.

On the one hand the combination of solid defense and elite offense that he brings at the catcher position gives his team a distinct advantage over most of their opponents. On the other hand, it does not do him or the Giants any good if the rigors of the position constantly force Posey to miss time with injuries.

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Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins can relate. As a concession to his injury history Mauer switched positions and became a full-time first baseman in 2014 with the hopes that he would better be able to stay healthy (a plan that unfortunately has not worked well thus far). When asked about the prospect of Posey having to also switch positions, Mauer had the following to say (quotes from ESPN.com):

"“There will be a day when he can’t catch anymore and a day where we can’t put the uniform on anymore. He’s a special player and he’ll be able to make that transition if he wants to. I’d like to see him catch as long as he can.”"

The Giants have already made a practice of having Posey play first base every now and then to get him out from behind the plate. Will that be enough? Hopefully Posey is a long time from having to consider a position switch.