Angels Sign Hunter
November 28, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Transactions
Serious catch-up mode here. Free agent center fielder Torii Hunter has signed with the Angels. The deal is 5 years, $90 million, which is just nuts for a 32-year-old with a career OBP of .324. Hey, at least it’s not my money.
(Guest blogger TD — thanks, bud! — covered this transaction while I cavorted about the Pacific and was similarly unimpressed.)
I don’t really see how the Angels were even players here given that they threw $50 million at Gary Matthews Jr. last winter to play Hunter’s position. Matthews had a nice little Damion Easley type season, which isn’t bad, but which also isn’t worth $10 million a year.
Presumably Hunter’s presence pushes Matthews to a corner outfield spot, reducing the latter’s value even further. I guess the good news, if you’re an Angels fan, is that the franchise has plenty of dough and can afford to be a little careless at times. Best hope it doesn’t happen too often, though.
The only people who gain out of this deal are Hunter and the Twins. The Twins get to shop for a younger, cheaper, maybe better center field prospect. Hunter gets to move to a milder climate and spend part of his 90 mil on ocean front property. The AL West isn’t as tough a division, pound for pound, as the Al Central, so Hunter might see marginally more post season opportunities with the Angels than with the Twins. It makes perfect sense if you’re with the Twins or Hunter, but it has to have the fans in Anaheim scratching their heads.