Twins general manager Bill Smith has said he doesn't think Joe Mauer's stay on the disabled list because of an illness and injury will be long term.

The Twins' manager, Ron Gardenhire, had this to say Sunday about the team's $184 million catcher: "I think he's lost 15 or 20 pounds. He's sick."

If that weren't discouraging enough, Mauer's viral infection, which hospitalized him last Thursday, may or may not be contributing to leg weakness.

He could be back by the end of the month. He could be a second or third-round fantasy pick you wish you had back. If the latter scenario is the case, now is the time to explore the waiver wire.

Here are six options at catcher who are available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, ranked according to value:

1. Nick Hundley, Padres (owned in 38.6 percent of the ESPN.com leagues): He is hitting .340 with three home runs, nine RBI, 10 runs scored and 14 strikeouts in 50 at-bats. He won't keep his average in the .300 range (Hundley is a career .248 hitter), but he should hit for power. In 579 at-bats since 2009 (roughly one full season), Hundley has 19 homers and 82 RBI.

2. John Buck, Marlins (5.9 percent): His numbers won't get your attention (.228, one homer, nine RBI, .653 OPS), but his 2010 will. Last season, Buck batted .281 with 20 homers and 66 RBI. The .281 average is 38 points above his career norm, and the RBI total was 16 better than his previous best. Like Hundley, he's a decent power option (91 homers and 333 RBI in 2,379 career at-bats).

3. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays (44.1 percent): Note to self: Always start Arencibia on opening day. Last year, he had two homers and three RBI in his major-league debut, then had one RBI the rest of the season (to be fair, he had 35 at-bats on the year). This season, Arencibia had two homers and five RBI in his first game, and has one RBI since. Still, he's batting .286 with a .919 OPS and is believed to (cue Jay Bilas) have huge upside.

4. Alex Avila, Tigers (10.4 percent): Prior to Tuesday's game, he was hitting .279 with three homers, nine RBI, six runs and an .875 OPS in 43 at-bats. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Tigers in 2008, and he has produced in limited action in the big leagues (15 homers and 54 RBI in 398 at-bats). A concern: Avila is a career .241 hitter who doesn't have overwhelming minor-league numbers (.280, 13 homers, 77 RBI, 73 runs and a .796 OPS in 542 at-bats).

5. Chris Iannetta, Rockies (16.8 percent): We know he has power, but it would be nice if he did something else. In 2008 and '09, Iannetta had a combined 622 at-bats and had 34 homers, 117 RBI and 91 runs. He also hit .248 with a ridiculous 167 Ks. Last season, Iannetta had only 188 at-bats, and this year, he's off to an unimpressive start (.211 with two homers, seven RBI and 13 Ks in 38 at-bats prior to Tuesday). He's better suited as an NL-only option.

6. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox (2.6 percent): Mr. Personality was pretty effective in 2009, when he batted .300 with 13 homers. Last season, he slipped to .270 with nine homers, 56 RBI and a .688 OPS. This year, he is hitting .255 with no homers, seven RBI, four runs and a .590 OPS. He should be an option strictly in AL-only leagues or if you're really desperate to acquire a 34-year-old who doesn't really help you in any category.

Too say it hasn't been a good start for fantasy's best catchers ranks somewhere between "Boy, Coach Taylor is getting a raw deal" and "Minka Kelly is nice to look at" on the obvious scale (and if you have no idea what I'm referring to, you need to give "Friday Night Lights" a chance).

Thursday, Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit, who led all National League catchers with a .318 batting average last season, is having surgery on his right wrist and is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks. The consensus No. 1 catcher entering the season, Atlanta's Brian McCann, is batting .195, hasn't driven in a run since April 12 and is adjusting to a new contact lens after being bothered by blurred vision in his left eye.

The AL's top-hitting catcher last season, Minnesota's Joe Mauer, is out until May because of a back injury, and the Dodgers' Russell Martin (a consensus top-three catcher prior to this season) is batting .245 with zero home runs and zero stolen bases after averaging 16 and 19.5, respectively, in those categories the previous two seasons.

Did we mention that the Cubs' Geovany Soto, who had 23 homers and 86 RBI en route to NL Rookie of the Year honors last season, is 3-for-26 (.115) with no extra-base hits?

Yes, it's been that bad.

If you drafted Doumit, are still waiting on Mauer (who is expected to return next weekend) or are just worried about the position in general, let's look at five catchers who might be available in your league (all five are owned in fewer than 50 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com). All stats are through Wednesday:

5. John Buck, Royals (12.8 percent): He's got the best numbers of the five (a .409 batting average and 10 RBI), but he has only played in six games (to teammate Miguel Olivo's eight), which limits his value significantly. Even the 2008 McCann could only be so effective playing 80 games a year.

4. Ivan Rodriguez, Astros (17.7 percent): He's a shell of his former self and no longer is a threat to hit more than 12 to 14 homers, but he's capable of batting .270 and driving in 55 to 60 runs.

3. Jason Varitek, Red Sox (24 percent): He was more dreadful than Joe McCoy (watch FNL, folks) last season, but he's shown some life early, hitting three homers in 39 at-bats. Like Pudge, Varitek's days as a fantasy standout are long gone, although I wouldn't be surprised if he was at least serviceable in deeper leagues the rest of the way.

2. John Baker, Marlins (23.4 percent): The 28-year-old batted .299 in his major-league debut last season, and he's off to a productive start in 2009 (.308, nine runs and nine RBI in 39 at-bats). Baker drove in 312 runs in 2,108 minor-league at-bats.

1. Yadier Molina, Cardinals (43.7): That percentage seems low, since he's a starter in every league in which I play, but if Molina is available in your league, acquire him. He's batting .340 with a .424 on-base percentage, and he drove in 56 runs and batted .304 last season.

And if you're really desperate ...

Doumit's backup, rookie Jason Jaramillo, has four hits in 14 at-bats. The 26-year-old, a second-round pick by the Phillies in 2004, has decent minor-league numbers (.271, 29 homers, 213 RBI in 1,747 at-bats), but he's not much of a power threat. ... The Nationals' Jesus Flores, 24, drove in 59 runs in 301 at-bats last season, and he has an impressive 89 RBI in 519 big-league at-bats in his career. The not-so impressive number: Flores' career batting average in the minors: .250.