27-year old lefty swinging Joe Mauer is coming off a MVP season and there is no reason to think he will slow down any time soon. Mauer played in 138 games for the Twins last season and he was 191 for 523 (.365 avg, 1.031 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 28 homers and 96 RBIs. Mauer’s power came out of nowhere so it will be interesting to see if it’s a sign of things to come or if it was a fluke. Watching him last season I think the power is real as he was turning on the ball more in 2009. Mauer is not a perfect catcher defensively but he’s better than average. He only made 3 errors last season in 109 games behind the plate but he had 9 passed balls and that’s way too many. Mauer threw out 24% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Twins’ pitchers like throwing to him as they had a 4.29 ERA with him behind the plate.

27-year old switch-hitter Jose Morales will be the back-up catcher in 2010 for the Twins. He played in 54 games for the Twins last season and he was 37 for 119 (.311 avg, .742 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. Morales does not have too much power but he is a excellent hitter for average. He has issues on defense however which will likely keep him from ever being more than a back-up catcher in the bigs unless he improves. Morales had 3 errors and 5 passed balls in only 29 games behind the plate for the Twins last season and that just isn’t good enough at the major league level. Morales only threw out 5% of the runners trying to steal on him but Twins’ pitchers had a 4.07 ERA with him behind the plate showing they like throwing to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: A

Kirby Puckett’s career and life ended to early. He was forced to retire at 35 years old because of vision loss in one of his eyes due to glaucoma. He then died 10 years later at the age of 45 on March 6, 2006. He was the second youngest Hall of Famer to die with only Lou Gehrig (37 years old) going before him. Puckett got off to a quick start to his major league career winning the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award in 1984 for the Twins. In 1984, Puckett played in 128 games in which he was 165 for 557 (.296 avg, .655 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 0 homers, 31 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Puckett went on to play in 10 All-Star Games and he won 6 Gold Gloves with the Twins. He also led the American League in hits 4 times in his career and he led the league in RBIs in 1994 with 112. Puckett played 12 years for the Twins appearing in 1,783 games in which he was 2,304 for 7,244 (.318 avg, .837 OPS) with 1,071 runs scored, 207 homers, 1,085 RBIs and 134 stolen bases. Puckett in among the franchise leaders in games played (#7), hits (#2), AVG. (#6), runs scored (#4), homers (#5) and RBIs (#3) in team history. Puckett now resides in Cooperstown N.Y. with all of the legends of baseball and he will be there forever.

32-year old lefty starting pitcher Mike Maroth caught the Twins’ eye in winter ball earning him a invitation to spring training with them. He last pitched in 2007 with the Tigers and Cardinals in the majors. Maroth has pitched in 161 games (150 starts) in his major league career and he is 50-67 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Maroth is facing really long odds as the Twins have a pretty solid pitching staff in place for 2010. He will likely start the season in the minors.

The Twins have signed 34-year old righty reliever Clay Condrey to a 1-year deal. Condrey pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 6-2 with 1 save, a 3.00 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 179 games (9 starts) in his major league career and he is 18-12 with 4 saves, a 4.10 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Twins as Condrey should be helpful in middle relief for them in 2010.

The Twins have released 27-year old righty reliever Bobby Keppel. Keppel pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Twins last season and he was 1-1 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 49 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-5 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. The Twins won’t miss Keppel.

UPDATE: Keppel has signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan for the 2010 season.