Mauer addresses concerns

MINNEAPOLIS – Joe Mauer looked tanned, a little thinner and relaxed as he talked about returning to the Minnesota Twins.

His 57-game absence was hardly a vacation, however.

The four-time All-Star catcher calmly dismissed questions about his ability to play through discomfort, insisted he doesn’t have some mysterious disease and tried to deflect focus back to the team.

The face of the franchise with the $184 million contract will always be scrutinized, though, and during the two months he missed, the spotlight only grew brighter as doubt about his future at the game’s most demanding position increased.

“I don’t see it being a problem in the years to come,” Mauer said Thursday after the Twins announced they’ll reinstate him from the 60-day disabled list to play today.

He went out April 12 with a condition called bilateral leg weakness, fatigue exacerbated at the time by a severe flulike virus. The weakness was caused by his body overcompensating for his left knee, on which he had arthroscopic surgery last year.

Mauer said he’s certain he’s able to catch consecutive games and keep putting his 6-foot-5 frame in that crouch for the rest of the season — and beyond. Not once has he acknowledged he’ll have to switch positions, though given his age, size, contract, early-career injury problems and elite hitting ability it seems inevitable that move will come.

“I don’t think anybody’s 100 percent right now in major league baseball. I’m feeling great. I’m making a lot of progress,” Mauer said.