Minnesota Twins center fielder and fan favorite Torii Hunter filed for free agency Monday, breaking my heart and becoming one of the most sought-after players on the market this offseason. The Twins have 15 days to make me a happy woman and negotiate exclusively with the six-time gold-glover, before he hits the open market on November 13th... which is the likely scenario.
Hunter has made it clear that he would love to keep playing with the Twins -- the team that drafted him as an 18-year-old boy in 1993 -- but they've found it nearly impossible to afford the five-year deal he is looking for.
Keeping him will cost the organization an arm and a leg, and considering it would suck to have only one arm and one leg, they won't be offering him a contract. With Johan Santana set to become a free agent after the 2008 season and my Canadian Crusher sure to see dollar signs in arbitration, they have to make some tough calls on who stays and who goes.
In his contract season, Torii had a career year at the plate, hitting .287 with 28 longballs and 107 RBIs.
In other Minnesota news, the club exercised dynamite closer Joe Nathan's 2008 option for $6 million and starting pitcher Carlos Silva filed for free agency, as well. Good riddance, buddy.
[MLB.com] | [Biz of Baseball] | [Twins Territory]
8 comments:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
(we knew it was coming but still...)
Ugh.
I'm going to need to get some strong anti-depressants.
The Twins should deal Johan before they lose him. If they do it now, they can basically get whatever they want/need for him. If they wait until the trading deadline, other teams would smell desperation and low-ball them.
The Twins don't really have exclusive negotiating rights anymore, because Torii told them he isn't interested in talking with them until he's talked with other teams. I think the last time we saw him at the Dome was the last time we'll see him playing in a Twins uniform. Seriously, whose jersey do you buy now? Mauer's the only one locked up for awhile. Liriano? Probably a good bet.
When I was talking to Ratcliff at Instructs, he made it pretty clear that they were looking to sign Morneau to a long-term deal. As a result, there wasn't a lot of rush to develop any of the kids to replace him any time soon. Hunters leaving doesn't concern me all that much.
Good news about Morneau...
The thing about Torii is that yes, I'll get over it, just as quickly as I was over the loss of KG. It's just disturbing to me that in a three or four-state area chock full of Twins fans -- not to mention the incredibly rich owner, they can't afford to keep their best players? That's 30 bombs and 100 RBIs that they aren't immediately replacing. Kinda' lame, if you ask me.
Sorrii seems to be the hardest word.
I'm super bummed about Torii! It's not exactly like he's replaceable for one thing, and for another, he was a positive influence in the clubhouse while still being productive behind the plate. He'll be missed big time by the Twins.
Isn't Carl Pohlan a billionaire many times over?
Carl Pohlad ranks #114 on the list of The 400 Richest Americans of 2007.
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