This contract is a no-brainer for the Minnesota Twins. Mauer is an amazing talent who plays at a specialty position. The only concern I would voice is Mauer’s injury history. He has had surgery on his knee back in 2004 and a back injury that kept him from playing the entire month of April last season. If the Twins manage Mauer and DH him to keep him healthy I see no reason why this won’t be a good deal for them. Assuming this does not hamper them from making other moves and retaining players in the future.

Victor Martinez must be licking his chops now as he will be looking for an extension from the Boston Red Sox soon. Mauer obviously has set the bar but Martinez knows his numbers are some what comparable.  We shall see what the happens from here.

Hudson seems to be an anomaly the past few years. He has always put up good numbers while playing good defense yet he seems to have great difficulty in finding a job. At 32 years old he is obviously not getting younger and he does play a physically demanding position. But, his numbers don’t seem to show any slide in defensive prowess. Yet last season Joe Torre benched Hudson in favor of Ronnie Belliard at the end of the season. Is there something they are telling us? Does Hudson have a poor attitude? Does he not get along with his team mates in the locker room? Why does Hudson always seem to be the red headed step child of the baseball world?  I’m stumped. It seems as though Hudson may have to repeat the process again next offseason having only signed a one year deal.

Ben Sheets – The former Milwaukee Brewers right-hander signed a one-year deal worth $10 million plus incentives with the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. Sheets is looking to prove to the A’s that he is fully recovered from elbow surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2009 season. The A’s were in attendance for Sheets throwing session last week and came away impressed enough to offer a large base salary for this season. Sheets is expected to be the Opening Day starter for the A’s and is a great mid-season trade candidate for a contender, if healthy, as he could net some quality prospects that A’s GM Billy Beane is notorious for looking to find.

Miguel Tejada – The former 2002 AL MVP recently signed a one-year deal worth $6 million with the Baltimore Orioles, a team in which he previously played for from 2004-2007. During his first stint with the Orioles, Tejada was one of the premier hitting shortstops in the game, but now is expected to shift over to third base in his second go-round with the team. While not the power hitter he once was, Tejada is still an above average hitter as his 2009 season of 14 HR, 83 RBI, and a .313 AVG with the Houston Astros shows. The Orioles hope Tejada can provide veteran leadership and play to a lineup filled with some exciting young hitters in Matt Wieters (C), Adam Jones (CF), Nick Markakis (RF), and Nolan Reimold (LF).

Jason Giambi – Another former AL MVP found a one-year deal to his liking, as Jason Giambi (1B) will return to the Colorado Rockies this season as a power bat off the bench. Giambi struggled last season as a member of the Oakland A’s as he hit only .193 in 83 games as he battled knee injuries before eventually being released. However, Giambi had success in limited duty with the Rockies as he was a solid contributor in the Rockies playoff run last season. In 19 games with the team, he hit .292 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. In 2010, Giambi will be regulated mostly to pinch-hitting duties and part-time work at first base as his days of being an everyday player are done.

Jim Thome – After his brief flirtation with a return to the South Side of Chicago for 2010 fell through, the future Hall-of-Famer signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Sox’ division rival, the Minnesota Twins, on Tuesday. Like many other sluggers on the market, Thome had a hard time finding a deal to his liking before finding the Twins to be his best option for 2010. Thome is expected to get roughly 250-300 at-bats this season as a part-time DH and occasional first base option for the Twins. The Twins potential lineup against right-handed pitchers is arguably the most dangerous in all of baseball with reigning AL MVP Joe Mauer (C), Justin Morneau (1B), Jason Kubel (DH/OF), Michael Cuddyer (RF), Thome, and Denard Span (CF).

Xavier Nady - The Chicago Cubs have added some much-needed power and depth to their outfield with the signing of Xavier Nady to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Nady only played in seven games with the New York Yankees last season as he had to undergo the second Tommy John surgery of his career last July. The surgery is typically done on pitchers and has an estimated recovery time of anywhere from 10-12 months. However, Nady is reportedly ahead of schedule and is looking to make a big contribution in 2010. In 2008, Nady had the best season of his career as he had a .305 AVG, 25 HR, and 97 RBI, all career highs. The Cubs are hoping Nady is healthy as they expect him to be the right-handed form of a platoon in right field with current outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. If healthy, Nady should provided solid numbers as a fourth outfielder.

Jon Garland – The San Diego Padres added another arm to their rotation with the signing of Jon Garland to a one-year deal worth $4.75 million with a mutual option worth $6.75 million for 2011. While not a top-of-the-rotation starter, Garland is a reliable work-horse who has pitched at least 191 innings a season since 2002. Last season, Garland was 11-13 with a 4.01 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres are ecstatic to add a pitcher of Garland’s caliber to their host of young arms as he is expected to ease some of the load off of the young pitchers and give them some more seasoning. If nothing else, the Padres are getting a guy that will provide quality starts and eat up some innings.

9. Bengie Molina – Molina produced an average of .276 with 138 HR and 665 RBI’s over the past decade. Molina also provided good defense by winning back to back AL Gold Gloves in 2002 and 2003. His biggest accomplishment was winning a World Series ring with the Los Angeles Angels in 2002.

8. A.J. Pierzynski – Known more as the guy opposing teams love to hate, Pierzynski sported an average of .286 with 111 HR and 545 RBI’s. His career started to produce success after becoming a member of the Chicago White Sox in 2005 where he was a key member of the team winning its first World Series title in 88 years. Pierzynski was also a two-time All-Star selection this decade.

7. Jason Kendall – Kendall produced an average of .283 with 44 HR and 500 RBI’s this decade. Most of his success occurred in the first half of the decade as he had three seasons with a batting average over .300. He was an All-Star in 2000 and reached the 2,000 hit plateau for his career this past season. However, due to age and deteriorating skills, Kendall is nearing the end of his career as a productive everyday catcher.

6. Jason Varitek – Varitek produced an average of .257 with 148 HR and 596 RBI’s, all with the Boston Red Sox. Varitek is known mostly for his leadership and has been the captain of the Red Sox for many years. He was a key component in the Red Sox winning two World Series titles this decade along with being a 3-time All-Star. 2005 was arguably his best season as he won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award.

5. Victor Martinez – Martinez’s career started in 2002 with the Cleveland Indians where he would produce an average of .299 with 111 HR and 559 RBI’s this decade. Ironically, Martinez has taken over the main catching duties from Varitek after his trade to Boston last season. He is currently considered one of the best hitting catchers in the game as he has produced three 100 RBI seasons in his career to go along with three All-Star appearances. He also won a Silver Slugger award in 2004.

4. Mike Piazza – Piazza did most of his damage in the previous decade, however, he still was able to post some pretty impressive numbers before retiring in 2007. He finished the decade with an average of .283 with 187 HR and 567 RBI’s. He also was a 5-time All-Star and won 3 Silver Slugger awards this decade. While not known for his defense, Piazza would retire with the most home runs of any catcher with 427 and is considered to be a future Hall of Famer.

3. Jorge Posada – Posada compares similarly to Varitek in terms of leadership and importance to the success of the New York Yankees. However, Posada produced some better overall numbers at the plate with an average of .282 with 208 HR and 819 RBI’s. He was a part of 2 World Series titles and also appeared in 5 All-Star games. Most impressive was his 5 Silver Slugger awards including 4 in a row from 2000-2003. In my opinion, Posada is building a case for a spot in Cooperstown when his career is over.

2. Joe Mauer – Mauer has arguably the most impressive statistics and accomplishments of any catcher this decade. The former No. 1 overall pick of the Minnesota Twins has posted career numbers of .327 AVG, 72 HR, and 397 RBI’s. In 6 seasons, Mauer has won 3 AL batting titles and was awarded his first AL MVP this past season. He also won a Gold Glove in 2008 and 2 Silver Slugger awards. The sweet swinging Mauer is considered the cornerstone of the Twins and has the potential to be one of the best catchers in history by the time his career is through.

1. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez – The man they call “Pudge” brings home the honor as the best catcher of the decade. Pudge was a 6-time All-Star this decade along with bringing home an impressive 5 Gold Gloves. He was the NLCS MVP for the 2003 Florida Marlins that would go on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. Pudge also was considered the biggest reason the Detroit Tigers turned from a 100 loss team into the AL Champions in 2006. He finished the decade with an average of .298 with 161 HR and 643 RBI’s. Pudge is a sure fire Hall of Famer as he has won 13 Gold Gloves, 1 MVP award, and is 289 hits away from becoming the only catcher with 3,000 hits in his career. However, is Pudge truly the best of the decade?

How do you think the MLB Network did in rating the catchers of the past decade? Who is rated too high or too low? Is there someone you feel was left out or shouldn’t be on the list?

Up Next: Top 9 Starting Pitchers of the Decade

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Mauer posted a major league best .365 BA, to go along with 28 HRs and 96 RBIs–both career best.  He also boasted an AL best OPS of 1.031 and a Gold Glove award. He was the near unanimous selection for the AL MVP receiving first place votes on all but one ballot.

Pujols was the unanimous selection for the NL MVP receiving first place votes on all ballots.  He batted .327 with 47 HRs, 135 RBIs, and a majors best OPS of 1.101.  This was Pujols 3rd MVP award with the other two coming last year and in 2005.

There is really no debate on Mauer and Pujols being selected as MVPs for their respective leagues.  Really, the only intriguing thing about the 2009 MVP awards and voting process is that Jeremy Affeldt, relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, received a 10th place vote in the NL MVP voting.  Someone really couldn’t find 10 better players in the NL than Affeldt?  We know some people feel the NL league is inferior to the AL, but it isn’t that bad.