The Twins are continuing the trend of signing young stars to long-term deals, inking Joe Mauer to a four-year deal worth $33 million. This is a bargain for the Twins. Mauer would've made about $4 million this year in arbitration, so this is basically a three-year, $29 million contract that starts in 2008 and covers Mauer's last two years of arbitration and his first year of free agency. Mauer is one of the best players in baseball when he's healthy, so it's quite likely that he would've gotten a lot more money than $29 million in those three years if he'd waited.
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