Minnesota Twins interested in Torii Hunter

With their month-long managerial search coming to a close with the hiring of Paul Molitor yesterday, the Minnesota Twins are finally turning their focus to searching for players. The Twins have reportedly expressed interest in reuniting with outfielder Torii Hunter only a day into free agency, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com.

Keep in mind that the Twins, if they did in fact sign Hunter, would not be getting the old Hunter they had back in 2006, where he could rob anything in the ballpark. Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press had this to say:

His outfield range has significantly diminished from his Gold Glove days but Hunter largely made the plays that needed to be made. …He is lauded for his professionalism on the field and leadership off the field but could be stuck in a situation where the Tigers could not guarantee the playing time nor paycheck necessary for Hunter to consider another year in Detroit the right situation.

It does not matter where he lands, because wherever he plays next season, he will bring experience, leadership and talent to that organization. One thing is for sure, Hunter, who turns 40 years old next July, will want to sign with a contender as he is nearing the end of his playing days, so the Twins may not be the answer for him. The Twins also aren’t the only team interested in the 39-year-old’s services, as the Detroit Tigers are intrigued at the possibility of re-signing him, as well as the Kansas City Royals, who have been linked to him in the past few days with the departures of Nori Aoki and Billy Butler.

If Hunter were to return to Minnesota, it would be quite the homecoming for both him and the city of Minneapolis. He spent the beginning of his career with the Twins from 1997 to 2007. This move would also fill the hole in the outfield that the Twins are in dire need of.

In 142 games played during the 2014 season, Hunter slashed .286/.319/.446 with 17 home runs and 83 runs batted in over 586 plate appearances. While also recording a .765 OPS, he put up a 111 OPS+, .160 ISO, .311 BABIP and a 0.4 WAR. Hunter also only struck out every 6.2 at-bats, the best AB/K rate of his 18-year major league career. He is a career .279/.334/.465 hitter with 331 home runs and 1310 runs batted in, along with a career WAR of 50.3.