While both sides still seem like they're headed for an eventual deal, we wanted to pull out a couple paragraphs from our guy Joe Christensen's story from the GM meetings in Chicago pertaining to Joe Mauer and a new contract with the Twins.
Mauer, 26, received his second Gold Glove Award on Tuesday and today, he will win his third Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting player at his position. Mauer has one more year remaining on the four-year, $33 million deal he signed in February 2007.
"I've been thinking about things like that, but to tell you the truth, we haven't really started [negotiating with the Twins]," Mauer said late Wednesday in a phone interview. "It's the same philosophy that I've had: It's going to happen when it happens. So I'm just trying to let things happen, not try to make it happen, and it'll all work out when it needs to."
Does that worry anyone, or is it just part of the process? Would you have assumed talks had begun already?