Twins sign Mauer to eight-year, $184 million deal

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- The Twins announced that they have signed Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million contract, which will keep the catcher under contract through 2018.

Mauer, 26, will make $23 million each year from 2011 to 2018. The deal includes a full no-trade clause.

He is under contract for $12.5 million this year in the final year of a four-year, $33 million deal. Mauer, a three-time batting champion and reigning American League Most Valuable Player, could have become a free agent after the season.

The team plans to make the signing official on Monday at a press conference in Fort Myers, starting at 6 p.m. The team and Mauer have also said they will have no further comment until the press conference.