Pitching Mauer decides to retire

La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune

Bill Mauer notified the Twins on Thursday that he will retire from professional baseball because of shoulder problems.

Mauer, a righthanded pitcher signed as a free agent in 2003 out of Concordia (St. Paul), pitched only 34 1/3 innings last year because of shoulder tendinitis. He did break camp with Class A Beloit while rehabilitating the injury but could only throw 1 1/3 innings this season once he returned.

Mauer flew to the Twin Cities last week to be examined by Twins doctors, who told him that he would need additional rehab, perhaps as long as another month. That was when Mauer decided to call it quits.

"He's going to move on." said Jim Rantz, Twins director of minor leagues. "I give this kid a lot of credit. He was very professional in his approach. It was going to take a while to get back on the mound, and he took it upon himself to move on."

Bill, whose older brother, Jake, plays at Class AA New Britain and whose younger brother, Joe, catches for the Twins, indicated he might finish his college degree work.

Smith needs velocity

The Twins signed lefthander Bud Smith to a minor league contract as a low-risk move. Smith threw a no-hitter for the Cardinals at San Diego on Sept. 3, 2001, but has been hampered because of shoulder problems for the past three seasons.

The club knew he needed more rehab time, so he didn't break camp with Class AAA Rochester, instead remaining in warm Fort Myers, Fla., to strengthen his shoulder.

He joined Rochester after about a month and went 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA in three appearances. But there was a problem.

"That 80-81 [miles an hour] is not going to get it done," Rantz said.

Smith, 25, returned to the Twins' extended spring training camp in Fort Myers to try to increase his velocity.

By the way, Smith's first major league hit came against the Twins' Adam Johnson on June 16, 2001.

Sawatski worth watching

When a baseball official likes a prospect, he'll say, "I'm on him!" That's how Rantz feels about lefthanded reliever Jay Sawatski.

Sawatski, son of former major league catcher Carl Sawatski, had a 2.29 ERA through 13 games for Fort Myers. His fastball has been clocked at 91 mph, and he also has a sharp breaking slider. Sawatski could be a candidate to be promoted at midseason, as he's part of a Fort Myers team with several good prospects.

Etc.

Rantz doesn't expect Rochester manager Phil Roof, who is away from the team to be with his ailing wife, to return this season. Rich Miller has taken over as manager.

Class A Beloit righthander Angel Garcia has an impingement in his right shoulder and will be out for two weeks.

Bill Springman has returned to the organization as Class AAA Rochester's hitting coach. Springman was the hitting coach at Class AAA Salt Lake when Torii Hunter was there, and the two had a great relationship.

Don't scour the boxscores at Class AA New Britain for hitting prospects. The team entered the weekend ranked last in the Eastern League in runs scored and is batting .167 with runners in scoring position.

Infielder Jake Mauer has been activated from the disabled list at New Britain after recovering from a sore elbow.