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Torii Hunter

Hunter Meets With White Sox

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It’s not exactly news that the White Sox met with Torii Hunter last night, since Joe Cowley noted way back on November 1st that they’d get together.  Of course the two sides were not allowed to discuss a contract.

Joe Christenen’s article says Hunter is intensely studying teams to determine their long-term competitiveness.  He’s digging into their farm systems and contract obligations.  Christenen believes the Sox would need to unload Jon Garland’s $12MM salary to fit Hunter in for 2008.

Royals’ Interest In Torii Hunter Intensifies

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The Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton reports that the Royals’ interest in free agent center fielder Torii Hunter has intensified.  Dutton first mentioned the club having an eye on Hunter six days ago.

Despite Dayton Moore’s public indifference toward Jose Guillen’s steroid history, Dutton says that is one reason the Royals are moving toward Hunter.  They can definitely afford him, even if they have to pay a premium for being a year or two off from contending.  Signing Hunter could open the door to a David DeJesus trade.  Dutton’s sources present a contrast of opinion, with one calling Hunter a top priority and another considering him a long shot.

Moore surprised the baseball world by outbidding many teams for Gil Meche’s services a year ago.  That deal looks solid 20% through, and may have added some legitimacy for Kansas City when entertaining free agents.

Twins Willing To Trade Garza

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Terry Ryan hung on to his fine corral of young pitchers, and it’s hard to find fault with that.  However, new GM Bill Smith is open to dealing one of them for a high impact young hitter.

Specifically, Joe Christensen says the Twins are willing to move 24 year-old Matt Garza, who posted a 3.69 ERA this year.  The price would be huge – the names the Twins have in mind are Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, and Carlos Gomez.  Upton, a favorite of theirs, seems like the least available of the three.  Marc Topkin agrees that a Young-Garza rumor has been floating around.

If the Twins want to make a lesser deal, teams have also been asking about Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker.  But those two aren’t chopped liver, and Rocco Baldelli doesn’t seem like enough.  The Padres want in on the young pitchers, but aren’t willing to give up third baseman Chase Headley. 

There’s also word in Christensen’s article that the Twins haven’t heard back from Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva regarding their weak offers.  A more legitimate effort will be made to re-sign Johan Santana.

Latest Braves Rumors: Glavine, DeJesus, Dotel

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Here’s a look at the recent dealings and rumors surrounding the Braves.

  • Frank Wren publicly admitted that the Braves would like to add Tom Glavine to their rotation for 2008.  They’re hoping for a hometown discount, which he may be amenable to based on this report.  At the minimum, the Braves will have competition from the Nationals, Cardinals, Astros, and possibly the Mets.
  • Wren also stated that the Braves will look outside the organization for their center fielder.  David O’Brien (linked above) indicates that the Braves won’t make offers to Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, or Mike Cameron due to the size of the likely commitments.  Since Cameron would seemingly only take two years, it’s surprising the Braves will pass.  O’Brien says David DeJesus is a reasonable option even though he’s signed for three years, since he’s cheap and trade-able.  A Coco Crisp acquisition would use similar logic.
  • Unless he comes at a discount, it sounds like the Braves will pass on Todd Jones.  Jones had expressed interest in pitching for his hometown team, but Wren stated yesterday that he will not pursue a free agent closer.  There had been speculation yesterday that the Braves were interested in Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi.  They could still add him as a set-up man.
  • Though the Braves declined his $5.5MM option, Octavio Dotel could still be in the picture.  Most likely, he’ll seek more money and the opportunity to close elsewhere.  It was a mutual option so Dotel would’ve declined it on his end anyway. 

Royals Interested In Guillen, Jenkins, Hunter

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I was waiting for someone to name a few players of interest to the Royals, and Bob Dutton came through tonight with some names.

Specifically, the team is after a run-producer, ideally a right-handed hitter.  That puts Jose Guillen atop their list.  Dayton Moore might need to go a little north of three years, $30MM to get him.

Failing that, the left-handed hitting Geoff Jenkins is on the radar.  He’d probably go for a one-year, $6-7MM contract in my estimation.

Dutton notes that the Royals have interest in Torii Hunter, but he’s likely to be priced out of their range.

Dutton also hints that Sammy Sosa could be a consideration for the Royals, as he does have pop if nothing else.  They are one of a handful of teams with an open DH spot. 

Rangers Rumors: DeJesus, Lamb, Millar

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Evan Grant writes for the Dallas Morning News, but he posted this column at night.  Go figure.  He’s got some new info regarding the Rangers.

  • As you know, the Rangers have had difficulty finding a long-term center fielder.  That’s the main focus of this offseason.  The team has already shown interest in Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, the top center fielders available.  Other free agents such as Andruw Jones and Mike Cameron appear to be in play as well.  Grant’s trade candidates: Coco Crisp, David DeJesus, Mark Kotsay, and Carlos Beltran.  We’ve speculated on DeJesus to Atlanta in the past.  With DeJesus signed cheaply through 2011 and the market at the position robust this winter, it might make sense for Dayton Moore to wait a year to shop him aggressively.
  • Grant adds that Jon Daniels is considering some affordable options for first base.  They’ve already talked to Mike Lamb’s agent and like Kevin Millar as well.  Lamb came up through the Rangers’ system but was traded to the Yankees in ’04.  Millar is under contract for ’08 but it’s in the $3-4MM range and the Orioles should be open to a trade.  Grant says Ben Broussard could pique the Rangers’ interest if he’s non-tendered.
  • Grant concludes with five Rangers whose names will be bandied about in trade talks: Gerald Laird, Vicente Padilla, Joaquin Arias, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Nelson Cruz.  Salty’s not being shopped but Grant expects teams to ask.  He proposes some kind of bad contract swap for Padilla – Jason Giambi, Richie Sexson, or Adam Eaton are named.  I still think it’s funny the way Padilla crawled away from the brawl he started this year. 

Nats Make Contact With Hunter, Rowand

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For what it’s worth, the Nationals recently made contact with the agents for center fielders Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand.  This really doesn’t mean much – I imagine such "initial contact" phone calls are happening all over the place but we only hear about a few of them.

It’s known that Hunter is interested in playing for Washington, because of the African American community and Dmitri Young’s presence.  Rowand has also been mentioned before.  The Nats have been connected to Coco Crisp and Andruw Jones as well.  And on the pitching side they’ve been linked to Tom Glavine.  Jim Bowden has pledged to sign one veteran starter on a one-year deal.

I admit that this approach should engage Nationals fans this offseason, even if they don’t make a big signing.  Is this really the right time to make a four or five-year commitment to a center fielder?  It seems better to wait until more young talent develops and then make a strike.    

White Sox To Meet With Torii Hunter

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According to Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times, White Sox GM Kenny Williams plans to meet with Torii Hunter next week.  They can’t talk contract terms, but Williams will work to convince Torii that the South Side is the place to be.  Apparently Hunter told a friend he was receptive to the Sox.

It seems that five years and $75MM is the minimum Hunter will accept, and the Sox seem prepared to do that.  It’s a huge commitment for a guy coming off a career year.  Plus, Hunter doesn’t contribute an above-average OBP, something the White Sox need.  Aaron Rowand is the alternative if the Sox can’t sign Hunter.  Though both are Type A free agents, Chicago’s #8 overall pick is protected.

Cowley adds that the possibility of signing David Eckstein has caused the White Sox to hold off on Juan Uribe’s $5MM option.  However Cowley’s source says the Sox will pick it up and use Uribe at second or third base if necessary.  November 7th is the deadline for Uribe’s option.

Latest Alex Rodriguez Rumors

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Ah, your daily dose of Alex Rodriguez rumors.  What would you do without it?

  • Rob Bradford asked Red Sox captain Jason Varitek whether Alex Rodriguez would fit in with the Red Sox clubhouse.  Varitek, you may recall, had a little face-shoving scuffle with A-Rod back in 2004.  Varitek said he had no idea whether Rodriguez would fit in with the current team, but that he knows Mike Lowell does.  It’s pretty obvious where Varitek’s allegiance lies given the "Re-sign Lowell" sign and all.
  • Gwen Knapp doesn’t see the Dodgers getting A-Rod for a couple of reasons.  First, of course, there’s the price.  Second, there’s a possibly shaky relationship with Scott Boras given last year’s unexpected opt-out by J.D. Drew.
  • Mark Feinsand disagrees – his L.A. source says the Dodgers will make a push for him.  The expected hiring of Joe Torre will basically be a non-factor in Rodriguez’s decision.  Plan B for the Dodgers might be to sign Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones.  That leaves Juan Pierre in left field or traded.  Hey, it was a dumb signing at the time.
  • Feinsand also has a source indicating that Rodriguez is hoping the Yankees will entertain the possibility of bringing him back.  The Yankees, of course, are scarred by the Texas money lost and have pledged repeatedly that they will not be involved.  We’ve seen this a million times – teams love fresh faces.  Say A-Rod had played out his Texas contract to this point – do you think the Yankees would be in the mix for him then?  If the Yankees don’t want A-Rod because he’s simply too expensive, that’s reasonable.  But if they simply feel scorned by the opt-out, that’s emotion.
  • Omar Minaya said on a conference call yesterday that he planned on discussing the team’s interest in A-Rod with David Wright, since Wright would have to move to second base to accomodate him.
  • A new team is going after A-Rod aggressively.

Astros Interested In Hunter, Rowand

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UPDATE, 10-31-07:  A few more notes on the Astros’ interest in Hunter and Rowand.  According to Wade, the Astros are looking to add either a center fielder or a right fielder – keeping Hunter Pence in center is an option.  Also, he calls the contact with Hunter and Rowand "procedural," noting that the Astros will talk to roughly a third of all free agents.

FROM 10-30-07:

Looks like Ed Wade and the Astros will make a play for a free agent center fielder this winter.  They’ve already made initial contact with the agents for Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand. 

That didn’t strike me as a major need given the current outfield of Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, and Luke Scott.  I agree with RotoWorld on this – Scott could be a great acquisition if the Astros push him out of the picture.  An awful April obscured Scott’s stats – he hit .267/.360/.534 from May forward.  Same thing happened with Kevin Kouzmanoff.

On the other hand, Pence is better suited for right field than center.  So as long as Wade gets full value in the form of a starting pitcher for Scott.  Unfortunately they are not on Curt Schilling’s list but three other NL Central teams are.

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