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By the time Josmil Pinto made his Major League Baseball debut for the Minnesota Twins at the end of last season, change was clearly in the Minnesota air. The concussion symptoms for Joe Mauer weren’t going away and all the while Pinto was doing great things when he got a start. While at first Mauer suggested he was going to remain behind the plate, it has now come out that he is definitely moving to first base, opening the catcher position.
The Twins did sign free agent catcher Kurt Suzuki to a contract that could see him become the starting catcher. At the same time however Suzuki is able to pull part-time or backup duties at the backstop off pretty well. Since the Twins traded away Ryan Doumit, it is pretty clear that young Pinto is going to be no lower on the starting chart than second behind Suzuki.
Part of why the Suzuki signing was so good for the Twins is the very fact that him being there does not necessarily block out Pinto from a more prominent starting job at catcher if he earns it through the season. At worst Pinto should be the backup and good plenty of playing time behind Suzuki who is a very good all around catcher. Wisdom Pinto can learn from Suzuki as well as Mauer should go a long way towards helping him climb the ladder to starter fairly soon. It is really a win-win situation for him.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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