Thread: Torii Hunter signs 2 year deal with Detroit

Tigers underperformed in the first half...played to their talent in the 2nd half...and now they improve their RF situation AND get VMart back.

Gonna be hard to beat

He may not repeat this year and he may never be what he was a few years ago but will he be an upgrade? For sure! Delmon is gone and they replace him with Hunter by any account a better player and they add 6 mill over what they paid Delmon. Seems like a good swap.

An owner that isn't afraid to spend money, must be nice.

Originally Posted by Brock Beauchamp

Originally Posted by AllhopeisgoneMNTWINS

2 year 26 million dollar deal. Wholly cow, not a signifcant drop off of pay from his Angel Contract.

That's absurd. Hunter posted a 5.5 WAR last season after falling to a WAR of ~3 (give or take half a point) in the previous two seasons. Given his age and ever-decreasing range, I think it's almost a given that he will not repeat his 2012 numbers with the Tigers.

Still, kudos to Ilitch for not giving up on that quest for a ring. When you're that old and that rich, who gives a damn how much you spend?

Carl Pohlad, that's who. The Twins were in the same position with an elderly owner who knew his time was up in any minute. He didn't increase payroll to win, instead he leveraged his pending demise against the threat that no one knew if the family would keep the team (?!don't move our Twins?!) to get a new tax payer funded stadium.

Originally Posted by Linus

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Originally Posted by COtwin

Originally Posted by John Bonnes

Two takes....

1. Lord, is it ever going to end with Ilitch? They were at $133M last year, which was a top 5 payroll. I don't think they're losing any really big deals, and now they replace Delmon with Hunter?

2. Does the insane interest in Hunter so far this offseason mean that there is a tremendous market for trading Willingham? Other than Hunter, the only pretty big free agent bats out there are Hamilton (crazy expensive) and Swisher (probably gets a four year deal.) If I'm a GM looking to add some power to my OF, doesn't Willlingham's 2-year, $14M deal look crazy good right now?

I used to think that trading Willingham was a good idea, now I am not so sure. Detroit is going to own this division for a few more years and slap hitters are not going to beat them regularly. I like a good OBP but we need the power Josh provides.

If this move doesn't cement that the Twins should build for 2014 and 2015, I don't know what else would convince Twins fans...

Really Seth?
Torii Hunter? - he of 37 years old, declining range and 16 homers has pushed you over the edge into throwing in the towel for next year? I usually am on the same page as your takes but I don't get this one. Delmon is likely to put up better offensive numbers next year (we won't go there on defense). At $13 mil per, they can have him. There is a better than even chance that one or both of the years is a complete waste either due to injury or just plain old losing the skills due to age.

Yeah I think that's putting an awful lot of value on Hunter, too, Seth. Did anyone really think the Tigers WEREN'T going to try to improve on Delmon Young in their outfield? Acting like they just added Hamilton or something is a little over the top.

You don't send up a white flag in November. The Twins have a ton of money to spend, too, if they want to do it. I don't know what the hell "building for 2014" even means. They have little to no decent starting pitching in the organization that will be top of the rotation quality by 2014, either, so if they aren't willing to go out and get that now, what the hell makes anyone think they would do so in 2014?

The Twins have no excuse for not being a team that reloads, rather than rebuilds. They can and should be expected to compete EVERY season and when they don't, they should be expected to address any shortcomings immediately. Using money as an excuse for not doing so should have stopped the moment the trucks drove away from the loading docks at the Metrodome. It's becoming tougher to understand how so many otherwise knowledgable fans are continuing to buy the line of crap the Twins front office spouts about payroll limits and revenues.

Would it shock anyone to see the Tigers make a big splash for a pitcher? Say, Grienke? Owner wants to win NOW!

Hunter is better than Delmon. He also gets a guy like Brennan Boesch out of the lineup. Meanwhile Victor Martinez takes over for Delmon at the DH. I'm not a big Torii Hunter fan at all, and it's far too many dollars.

So, I do think this move makes the Tigers a little bit better. Not a ton. Based on the fact that they were 20 games better than the Twins last year (and that's likely because they didn't really come together as a good team until late in the season), my thinking all along has been that they should be shooting for 2014 or 2015 to compete.

Originally Posted by ThePuck

Would it shock anyone to see the Tigers make a big splash for a pitcher? Say, Grienke? Owner wants to win NOW!

After the Prince Fielder signing, nothing would surprise me anymore.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Hunter is better than Delmon. He also gets a guy like Brennan Boesch out of the lineup. Meanwhile Victor Martinez takes over for Delmon at the DH. I'm not a big Torii Hunter fan at all, and it's far too many dollars.

So, I do think this move makes the Tigers a little bit better. Not a ton. Based on the fact that they were 20 games better than the Twins last year (and that's likely because they didn't really come together as a good team until late in the season), my thinking all along has been that they should be shooting for 2014 or 2015 to compete.

Exactly shoot to compete in 2014 or 2015, we arent going anywhere this year, but we can be optimistic

Sounds as if Torii made the decision, before any calls or offers were made. Here is the link.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/sc...orii-the-tiger

Hunter phoned general manager Dave Dombrowski and invited himself to town. So the Hunters arrive in Detroit on Tuesday, word leaks, and now Larry Reynolds' cell phone starts blowing up with texts.

Reynolds is Hunter's agent. And, suddenly, he now has several clubs jockeying for position via text, wanting to make sure they get a chance to talk with Hunter before any decision is made. What they don't know, and what Reynolds -- who also is in Detroit -- now must tell them is, forget it.

I think the addition of Hunter makes the Tigers much better. He will add a lot to the team attitude, something I think the Twins lost when he left. Although on the downside of his career, he still has above average skills in both the field and at the plate. Even with the addition of four quality starters by the twins, I would still give the Tigers the edge over us heading into the season.

I can only speak for myself, but by saying we have to shoot for 2014 and 2015, I am saying that we have to sign pitchers that are perhaps younger and will peak in two to three years as apposed to someone that is an established major league pitcher who is on the downside of their career. I don't see value in signing a Pavano type FA that will eat innings this year, but will age and his skills will deteriorate to the point that he will be even less effective when we will really need good pitching in 2014 and 2015.

Doesn't this deal make trading Span or Willingham a more worthwhile thought? If teams are throwing around $13 mil for Torii, I imagine Bourne and Upton are going to get PAID. Span and Willingham with their respective contracts are going to look VERY appealing soon.

Originally Posted by SDTwinsFan

Doesn't this deal make trading Span or Willingham a more worthwhile thought? If teams are throwing around $13 mil for Torii, I imagine Bourne and Upton are going to get PAID. Span and Willingham with their respective contracts are going to look VERY appealing soon.

Been saying that all along..especially Span.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Hunter is better than Delmon. He also gets a guy like Brennan Boesch out of the lineup. Meanwhile Victor Martinez takes over for Delmon at the DH. I'm not a big Torii Hunter fan at all, and it's far too many dollars.

So, I do think this move makes the Tigers a little bit better. Not a ton. Based on the fact that they were 20 games better than the Twins last year (and that's likely because they didn't really come together as a good team until late in the season), my thinking all along has been that they should be shooting for 2014 or 2015 to compete.

Hunter was better than Young in 2012, I don't think that's anywhere near a certainty in 2013. Hunter is old and had an extremely lucky season.

You're also looking at this the wrong way, the opportunity cost of this move is what will really hurt the Tigers. What else could they have gotten for $13,000,000 over the next two years? Can you get, for example, Nick Swisher (a significantly better bet to help your team) for that?

Originally Posted by Kobs

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Hunter is better than Delmon. He also gets a guy like Brennan Boesch out of the lineup. Meanwhile Victor Martinez takes over for Delmon at the DH. I'm not a big Torii Hunter fan at all, and it's far too many dollars.

So, I do think this move makes the Tigers a little bit better. Not a ton. Based on the fact that they were 20 games better than the Twins last year (and that's likely because they didn't really come together as a good team until late in the season), my thinking all along has been that they should be shooting for 2014 or 2015 to compete.

Hunter was better than Young in 2012, I don't think that's anywhere near a certainty in 2013. Hunter is old and had an extremely lucky season.

You're also looking at this the wrong way, the opportunity cost of this move is what will really hurt the Tigers. What else could they have gotten for $13,000,000 over the next two years? Can you get, for example, Nick Swisher (a significantly better bet to help your team) for that?

FWIW Swisher is looking for "Jayson Werth money." Though 2/26 for Hunter is very absurd, I was thinking he would be lucky to get a 1/8 deal or a 2/14.

I thought he might get another year on the deal but it sounds like he wants tot try and win a championship in Detroit.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

FWIW Swisher is looking for "Jayson Werth money." Though 2/26 for Hunter is very absurd, I was thinking he would be lucky to get a 1/8 deal or a 2/14.

Interesting.

Back in July I brought up the possibility of the Twins getting Hunter and here's what you said:

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

1 year yes. 2 years? no way.

1 year 4-5 mil sounds about right. He could play a solid RF and fill in at DH when needed.

twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?2370-Torii-Hunter-and-the-Twins-in-2013

Originally Posted by powrwrap

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

FWIW Swisher is looking for "Jayson Werth money." Though 2/26 for Hunter is very absurd, I was thinking he would be lucky to get a 1/8 deal or a 2/14.

Interesting.

Back in July I brought up the possibility of the Twins getting Hunter and here's what you said:

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

1 year yes. 2 years? no way.

1 year 4-5 mil sounds about right. He could play a solid RF and fill in at DH when needed.

twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?2370-Torii-Hunter-and-the-Twins-in-2013

and?
That is what I felt comfortable with giving him and still would, when I said I thought he would be lucky to get 1/8 or 2/14 that is on the open market. Give me Willingham at 3/21 any day of the week over those options.

I sure as hell wouldn't give Hunter 2 years here or even a one year deal approaching the salary he got, and only advocated bringing him in if Span/Revere were traded and Hicks/Arcia weren't ready.

This is a stupid deal for the Tigers IMO.

Swisher can be looking for whatever he wants.