Kurt Suzuki, Minnesota Twins agree to contract extension

The Minnesota Twins could have traded catcher Kurt Suzuki at this year’s trade deadline. He is having an All-Star season, after all, and when the initial contract extension talks between the two sides didn’t go anywhere, it would have only made sense for a deal to get done so that the Twins got something of value in exchange for Suzuki.

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The Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals, in particular, had emerged as logical candidates for Suzuki and his .304/.367/.386 slash line. He also brings a certain measure of veteran savvy and an ability to manage a pitching staff, attributes that the Twins clearly valued in their first catcher not named Joe Mauer and that would have made him appealing to many contending teams.

Suzuki was not traded, and in the minutes after the trade deadline we found out why. The two sides agreed to a contract extension instead.

The Twins have made a number of short-term, low-risk moves with veteran players this season. Generally speaking, they have done a good job of knowing what to do with those players once they proved they still have something to offer.

In the case of outfielder Sam Fuld, the Twins sent him along to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a solid young pitcher in Tommy Milone. As for Suzuki, the Minnesota front office decided that it made more sense to sign him to an extension than to move him. They sort of panic-traded Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners, but the philosophy still made sense.

The odds are good that the Twins made the right call in this case with Suzuki.