Tuesday Twins: Status update on Joe Mauer’s legs and other notes

Hey all! There’s not much news these days, but I still got the links:

• Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but new reports say Joe Mauer has been spending the off-season trying to strengthen his legs. “I needed some time to rest,” Joe told Mike Berardino.
• Sure, the Joe Mauer contract has been disappointing, but would it be better for the Twins to just admit that? Derek Wetmore explored the idea.
• If you’re bummed the Twins haven’t made more signings yet this off-season, Falvey and Levine can break it down for you: There’s just not much available.
• Randball (as in owner of Stu) explored whether we should expect pitcher Hector “Not Ricky Nolasco” Santiago to perform as he has in the past or how the number-crunchers project him to perform (which is not as good).
• Brandon Kintzler has sort of been penciled in as the Twins closer for 2017, but Brandon Warne believes J.T. Chargois could end up picking up saves.
• Bernie Pleskoff wrote a great report on FanRag Sports about Twins catching prospect Mitch Garver. P.S.: If you’re looking for even more Garver in your life, our own Joe Lanek wrote his own fantastic report on the catcher back in November!
• The Twins are closing their last pro shop (the one in Minnetonka) by the end of the month. The store by Gate 29 at Target Field, of course, will still be open year round.