The Minnesota Twins have placed catcher Joe Mauer on revocable trade waivers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

The Minnesota Twins placed catcher Joe Mauer on trade waivers Tuesday, according to a major-league source...

Mauer, 29, has about $142.5 million remaining on his contract, including $138 million from 2013 to ’18.

Rosenthal believes that the Boston Red Sox, who have shown interest in Mauer in the past, could make a move and claim the MVP backstop. It seems unlikely that general manager Ben Cherington would add a $142.5 million contract after unloading over $250 million from the team's payroll just last week, but anything is possible at this point.

Even if the Red Sox do claim Mauer, there is a very good chance the Twins will revoke the waiver claim as they recently did with first baseman Justin Morneau. If the Twins did decide to work out a deal with Boston, they would also have the extra hurdle of getting past Mauer's full no-trade clause.

After an injury-plagued 2011, Mauer has bounced back nicely, hitting .309/.403/.425 with eight home runs and twenty-six doubles on the season.