Joe Mauer's move to another position was inevitable. The question was always going to be at what position, and the impending presence of Miguel Sano made first base a much more logical destination than third. We can debate that one if you'd like, but it's just not worth the energy.

Next issue: What do Josmil Pinto, Chris Herrmann, Eric Fryer and Ryan Doumit have in common? They're the catchers on the roster whom, according to media reports, general manager Terry Ryan expressed confidence in to handle the Twins' catching duties next season. No matter that we were told toward the end of last season that Doumit was also done as a catcher.

Next issue II: A.J. Pierzynski, John Buck, Brian McCann, Brayan Pena, Carlos Ruiz and Kurt Suzuki. What do they have in common? They're among the free-agent catchers on the market. (You can find a dozen more catchers in this list, but none of those names should interest us as much as the five mentioned here. Boston's Jarrod Saltalamacchia is available, but his defense reminds me too much of the Vikings' secondary to take him seriously.)

I'm all for Pinto becoming the Twins' regular catcher at some point. But all of the enthusiasm about his offensive ability needs to be put into the context that he had only 83 plate appearances for the Twins. (Can you say "Chris Parmelee, 2011?") Plus, there are the concerns that you would have for any young catcher about his ability to work with the pitchers, especially on a staff as flawed as what the Twins have been putting forth.

If there's a team in need of a veteran catcher to work with a promising youngster and a pitching staff in flux, it would be the Twins.

One of our stories about the Mauer move listed McCann, Ruiz and Saltalamacchia as free agents but "too expensive."

Let's all call garbage on that one.

I'm not saying one of those three has to be the answer, but the words "too expensive" and the Twins ownership should never, ever be mentioned in the same sentence, paragraph or book. That goes double right now with all of the salaries that have been dumped. You can make these numbers wiggle a little bit, but the Twins' payroll in 2013 dropped to about $82 million, The commitment to their 11 signed and arbitration-eligible players for this season comes to about $53 million, which means about $60-$62 million when you add the baseball-modest salaries of the others likely to be brought back.

That leaves plenty of room for investment, both in shorter-term position enhancements and longer-term pitching help. You could read toward the end of the season about ownership's shame, most notable the Jim Pohlad line from last summer on his embarrassment about walking through the concourses at Target Field. If the Twins truly believe that Pinto and those other guys are the catching answers for 2014, then ownership's shame is a sham.

If the Twins are committed to fighting the tire fire their team has become, the improvements for next season will include a veteran catcher to go with the new first baseman and the pitching help and Jason Bartlett (Jason Bartlett?) and any other moves they make.

Besides, you know you want to cheer for A.J. one more time.