Someday, Jose Morales will be healthy again, and this all may be moot.  Until then, I am incredibly concerned about the workload being shouldered on the Twins’ $184 million man.  Joe Mauer had a seven game break earlier this year, while he recovered from a bruised heel.  Other than that, he’s had just five days off in 45 games.  In those five games off, he’s been inserted as a late-inning pinch hitter and defensive replacement three more times.  And because of Jason Kubel, the addition of Jim Thome, and the relative success of both Delmon Young, he’s only been DHed three times this year.  Even with the seven game rest, Mauer is still on pace to start 128 games behind the dish in 2010.  That’s more than he’s started in any other year except 2008.  And that number is only going to get higher as that seven game stretch becomes a less significant percentage of the team’s games played. 

I want to be clear that this is not a post designed to criticize Joe Mauer.  Because Mauer is terrific.  Despite the heavy workload, he’s got a .392 OBP, and has a 130 OPS+.   And while the low homer total may be a cause for concern, Joe’s 28 homer output last year was the true outlier. 

And, to be honest, I sympathize with the Twins problems.  Joe Mauer’s the man, and that, as a team leader, he’s going to need to shoulder some additional responsibility.    And fans come out to the team’s beautiful new ballpark, in part, because it’s so fun to root for Joe.  I know I get excited when Joe’s in the lineup on TV, especially since my three-year old recognizes him now and yes “JOE MAUER!” when he sees him.  But grounding your best player’s bones into a sticky paste is not a winning strategy on either a season or a career level.  And the Twins need to find some way to protect Joe’s knees.

Which is why it’s so disappointing that Drew Butera is still on the roster.  Butera was a 5^th round pick of the Mets in 2005, and came over to the Twins in the Luis Castillo trade in 2007.  Last year, he was inexplicably added to the 40 man roster despite a career minor league line of .214/.296/.317.  Last year, in his first exposure to AAA, he hit .211/.268/.292.   Butera’s sole virtues seem to be a strong arm and a major league pedigree (Drew’s dad Sal was also a card carrying member of the backup catchers’ guild, whose 65 career OPS+ is currently 10.5 times higher than his son’s).  In his backup role, Butera’s been predictably horrible.  At .179/.179/.214, Butera has, as I mentioned above, and OPS+ of 6 in 29 plate appearances.  Plus, he’s hit into two double plays.  There are currently two position players in baseball, who have been on the 25 man roster all year, who still do not have a walk.  Butera is one of them (the other, Ross Gload, is the primary pinch hitter for the Phillies, and has 38 at bats across 29 games).   

I get that the Morales injury, followed by the Mauer injury, severely depleted the Twins’ catching depth this year.  And I get that Wilson Ramos, despite his promising start, isn’t ready and you don’t want to stunt his development.  But it’s been clear all along that Butera would never be ready, hasn’t it?  What could he possibly add to the team aside from some good chatter from the bench?  What does he give you that, say, Paul Bako can’t?  Bako hit .224/.308/.336 in 44 games last year for the Phillies and managed to throw out 32% of basestealers despite being 38 years old.  Is he retired?  Have the Twins checked?  Ultimately, it’s not his production that should make the difference between him and Butera on the roster.  Indeed, the difference between the two is still probably less than a win (backup catchers aren't that valuable).  Rather, it’s the perception that Bako has played and can still play the game that would, presumably allow Gardenhire to go a little easier on Mauer’s knees, keeping Super Joe fresher for the stretch run, which will presumably help the team win more games when it counts.

Then again, Jose Morales is hitting .293/.388/.362 at Rochester in 67 plate appearances as he makes his way back from a wrist injury.  Maybe he’ll be ready soon.  I hope so.  Joe looks like he could use a day off.