Torii Hunter might love Dmitri Young more than the Twins
ESPN is reporting that the Minnesota Twins and Twins All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter have not be in contact since the end of the regular season. When questioned by the media about wanting to stay in Minnesota, Hunter replied,
“I’m kind of disappointed, but what can you do?” Hunter told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “That’s my home team; I want to be with my home team. But there are no talks, no progress at all. It’s still the same. But there’s still a lot of time left.”
Apparently, one of the negotiation points between the two parties is money (surprise!) but, according to Hunter its not the major sticking point that some might think,
“There’s other stuff, inside stuff, that people don’t know about,” Hunter told the paper. “Money has something to do with it, but trust me, that’s just a percentage. We need to talk about stuff that needs to change before we start to get into deep talks.”
I guess my initial question would be “Was three weeks long enough to really start questioning Torii Hunter about his contract situation?” I mean, seriously, we have finished two games of the World Series, can we at least wait until the baseball season is over before we put Hunter on another team? Even if the Twins previously stated that they would begin negotiations with Hunter as soon as the season ended, it would not be a huge surprise if it literally took three weeks to put together a decent offer. Regardless of what the Twins are doing though, this article just seems a tad bit premature.
My second question? “What in the world could Torii Hunter possibly need changed before they start serious negotiations?” Let’s go over the check list, shall we? Good Starting Pitching? check (Santana, Liriano). Good Hitters? check. (Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer is decent as well). Good Closing Pitching? check (see Joe Nathan.). Is he getting under paid? Maybe, but he is in a small market. This past year, Hunter made $12 million dollars, when the Twins whole payroll was approximately $71 million. So…what exactly, besides money, could Torii Hunter possibly want?
My guess is that the initial reports on the Hunter situation were correct. He turned down a 3 year 45 million dollar deal in September and, since he is already 32, is probably waiting for a long term extension (i.e. 5 years, 70 million dollar extension). The likely end to the story? both sides will probably settle. Hunter will probably get the 5 year deal, but will probably take a loss in the overall dollar amount. I’m guessing somewhere around a 5 year $62-$65 million dollar deal. Or, he’s going to the Nationals because of his love of Dmitri Young.
Although this story broke entirely too early, I am curious to see how the negotiations between the Twins and Hunter unfold as the months progress.
Hunter is represented by Larry Reynolds of Reynolds Sports Management. His contact information can be found here.
ESPN — Report: Hunter says Twins haven’t made any offers since the end of the season
Star Tribune — Hunter reportedly turned down $45 million
Mr. Irrelevant — Will Meat Hook Land Torii for the Nats?
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I think Hunter might be looking for some kind of “olive branch” extended by the Twins’ brass that they will keep their core intact. If I were he, I wouldn’t count on all that talent around him being there down the road, regardless of current contracts. It absolutely is about his money and years first and foremost, but he also knows there’s no point staying in Minnesota at all if they are not going to be in the hunt year in, year out. I think he’s suspicious they are going to continue to underpay others who may not be as in love with the Twin Cities as he is supposed to be.