Torii Hunter Returns to Minnesota

by
December 2, 2014

2015 is likely going to be the final year of Torii Hunter’s Major League career, and as a free agent, he had a choice to make; he could join a contender to try and make one final run at a World Series title, or he could go back to Minnesota and finish his career where it started. According to Ken Rosenthal, he chose the latter.

Hunter’s deal is basically an exact match for the crowdsourced expectation, so kudos to you guys for nailing this one on the nose. As something like a +1 WAR outfielder, Hunter isn’t exactly a great use of funds for a Twins team that won’t be contending, but this is the kind of deal where measuring payroll efficiency misses the point the most.

The Twins very likely know that signing Hunter isn’t going to push the team into the postseason, and they probably know that there are better ways to spend $10 million this winter too. But Hunter is probably still a $7 or $8 million player, and so they’re paying a slight premium for the chance to let him have a victory lap in the town where he turned into a big leaguer. It’s a gesture of good will, and the kind of attraction that can add some enjoyment for the fans in a season that will probably be another stinker.

Hunter has had a very nice career, and now should get a chance to retire in the uniform he wore when he broke into the big leagues. He clearly placed a very high value on that opportunity, and while this move probably doesn’t push the Twins rebuild forward, it’s the kind of move that can create goodwill between the organization and their players and fans. And measuring that is probably out of our reach.

Hunter wanted to retire a Twin and the Twins gave him the chance to do so. It’s the part of baseball that we don’t specialize in, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. Good for the Twins and good for Torii Hunter.





 

Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

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Jaack
9 years ago

There is another advantage in here for both the Twins and Hunter. Assuming the Twins do what they’re liable to do and suck, they can flip him to a contender. That way, the Twins can get a little something extra out of this and Hunter still could get a chance at a ring.

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Phillies' Front Office
9 years ago
Reply to  Jaack

I’ve always wondered about this. Dave Cameron estimated the value of a win at the deadline as twice as valuable as an offseason win. (http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/an-attempt-to-find-the-the-market-price-for-wins-in-july/)
Why don’t more non-contenders try to buy up cheap .5-1 win players, and pocket the ~$7 mil in profit at the deadline? The Russel – Samardzija trade might not have happened if the Cubs hadn’t kicked Hammel $6 mil before the season. He was a rather lucky case for the Cubs, but that’s kind of the point; there’s not much cost in non-contenders giving marginal players a shot, and moving them if/when they validate their true talent.

Cameron talked about the Cubs’ strategy after they signed Hammel. Why don’t more teams give marginal players a shot? (http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cubs-idea-so-nice-theyre-trying-it-twice/)

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f4rw
9 years ago
Reply to  Phillies' Front Office

This is what the Astros have tried a few times over the past couple of seasons, I think, when they signed players like Ronny Cedeno, Carlos Pena, and Jose Veras. Obviously they were all a lot cheaper than Hunter, but the Astros picked them up with an eye on flipping them at the deadline if they played well in the first half of the season.

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