Jim Souhan certainly touched on a hot topic today with a well-constructed column on the possibility of trading Joe Mauer. Perhaps the timing was brought on by a peek at the calendar (hey ... um ... season starts in less than a month and there's still no deal) or baseball insiding that indicates the sides aren't quite as close as many of us had assumed. Maybe it's a little bit of both, but here is the money paragraph:

The Twins and [agent Ron] Shapiro have kept the details of their negotiations remarkably quiet, but my sense, after talking with a variety of people, is that the team has offered more than $20 million a year. If Shapiro is intent on pushing Mauer to $25 million or more a year, Mauer might find himself on the Johan Santana Shuttle out of town.

The piece hints at what might be fetched in a trade for Mauer, but it is more focused -- and rightfully so -- on what might be going on inside Mauer's head and where this all might be headed. It also notes that a new contract is still more likely than not, and all the talk could be moot very quickly if there is a resolution. We would add that an agreement on a "fair" contract (a relative term when we are parsing millions of dollars on top of many more millions) is still easily the best option for the Twins. Some things can't be perfectly defined by percentages of payroll or other crunched numbers. The potential fallout from losing Mauer is a special circumstance.

That said, what if negotiations reach a point that suggest Mauer's camp is bent on a push toward free agency and major money with a major market team? (Not likely in our mind, but again we don't live inside the head of a hometown hero who, for all we know, could be tired of living in a pleasant fish bowl).

If there is to be a trade ... the speculative question here is, "What could Joe Mauer bring in return?" When considering your answer, let's assume that the team he is being traded to has pre-arranged a long-term contract extension. Let's also remember the Johan Santana trade isn't necessarily a good barometer because the current Twins have a greater willingness and/or ability to take on payroll and are built to keep winning instead of for the future. Could Mauer fetch, say, an up-and-coming closer, a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher and one other piece? Replace the pitcher with an established but still young third baseman? What would the Twins ideally get if ... and it's still a big if ... it comes to a trade?

Or say so if the prospect is so unseemly that you'd rather not even think about it.