According to HardballTimes.com, Joe Mauer’s estimated 2006 salary was a mere $400,000. That is peanuts compared to what he would be worth on the open market. A dual threat catcher in the American League would probably fetch nearly $10 mil per season on the Yankees or Red Sox. However, Joe is still a yougin’ in terms of baseball players. He is still signed under his rookie contract, that’s why his base salary is so low.

Lucky for baseball players, there is this thing called arbitration. Basically arbitration is where a bunch of lawyers and salary experts meet in a room and decide on what a player is worth. And lucky for Joe Mauer, he enters arbitration this season. His salary will probably rise to something near $3-4 million. A nice jump, and well deserved bonus.

It is in the best interested of the Twins to offer Mauer whatever the arbitrators decide. They can’t afford to lose him to a division or league rival.