Torii Hunter to the Angels

[Oldcity]

5 year deal believed to be for 80 mil. Listed at MLB.com.

 

Man, that is a TON of money for Hunter... Not that the Angels can't pay it.

[TooLiveBrew]

That Gary Matthews Jr. deal worked out well.

[Oldcity]

No kidding. One year into it. Unfortunately it doesn't really even matter because they're made of money.

[adamb100]

I love this time of hte year when the offseason really starts to heat up.

[jlau20]

I don't remember what the numbers were for the Gary Matthew Jr. deal were and I'm far too tired to look it up...but it should be interesting to see if this one follows the same path.

[danzig6767]

They needed power for their lineup more than they needed Hunter. They sometimes make moves that i wonder about, but Hunter does kinda fit what they want/do. High batting average hitters that don't walk alot or hit for lots of power, but are good defenders. I wouldn't have made this move, but they have won their division three out of the last four years and won a ring in 2002.

[Kurt]

Man, how I despise the Angels. Ever since that rally monkey/name change thing.

[TheBrewer]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aj0aEnSJXKLg4IqBkPA9PheFCLcF?slug=ap-angels-hunter&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

Link on Yahoo MLB

[Invader3K]

Well, that's the kind of player the Angels were looking for, and they got him.

[PeaveyFury]

I don't remember what the numbers were for the Gary Matthew Jr. deal

 

IIRC, 5yrs/50 million.

[crewcrazy]

The Angels now have 4 outfielders making $10 million per season - Hunter, Matthews, Anderson, and Guerrero. This could possibly make Juan Rivera available (go get 'em, Doug!), unless the Angels plan on DH'ing Rivera and playing 4 outfielders next year.

 

This deal has to be kind of disappointing for Angels fans, though. After a couple of weeks of getting hyped up about the team possibly being close to landing Miguel Cabrera, they end up signing Torii Hunter -- a guy that they really didn't need and doesn't provide the kind of offense that they really need. If the Halos stand pat after this and stop making a run at Cabrera, it'll look like their new GM isn't any better than Bill Stoneman was in terms of hesitating to pull the trigger on big deals.

[colbyjack]

This move is surprising. The Angels now have almost an unmanageable glut of players everywhere, and their payroll has to be getting into that insanely goofy range.

 

Rivera is a good call, and I have long been a fan of Garrett Anderson. I know Anderson doesn't have many stat-head fans since he doesn't walk much, but he's the closest thing to Cecil Cooper since Coop hung it up. He's due a ton of money in '08, with an option for '09, but the Angels could pick up some of that salary if they are indeed looking to move one of their perceived extra over-paid OFs.

[brewers255]

Hunter actually signed for 5 yrs 90 million instead of 5/80. 18 Million a year. Wow.

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Outfielder Torii Hunter and the Los Angeles Angels reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday night on a five-year contract thought to be worth $90 million.

 

ESPN.com

[brettac1]

Oh dear lord. $18 million for Torii Hunter. That is craziness.

[splitterpfj]

For all of the rumors and inside information that floats around this time of year - I never heard the Angels connected to Hunter once. They've certainly got a surplus of players to deal from out there.

[madrx]

With the Angels glut of outfielders, what does anyone know about Reggie Willits? Looks like a light hitter but has good OBP stats in limited playing time in '06 and '07. Might be expendable with all of the other big bats available.

[MoneyballMan]

Andruw Jones' Thanksgiving just got happier!

[dadofandrew]

The Angels will be in no hurry to move Willits, he'll be dirt cheap until 2010.

[RobertR]

ARod will be the best long term signing of the offseason.

 

Robert

[DuWayne Steurer]

The Angels will be in no hurry to move Willits, he'll be dirt cheap until 2010.

 

I don't think a player being cheap is something that matters a whole lot to a team with a payroll like the Angels. If they have better players than Willits, they'll move him if they get another piece that they want/need.

 

[MoneyballMan]

ARod will be the best long term signing of the offseason.

 

Robert

I agree completely. As obscene as the real dollars are, Arod's deal is probably very much "net positive" to the Yankees based on the additional revenue generated by having him around. The Hunter deal works to reinforce that. $27m for Arod vs $18m for Hunter? Hands down, Arod is a better deal. This may not hold true for small- and mid-size markets because there's a limit to the revenue someone like Arod or Hunter can generate, but for a big-market club, this definitely holds true. And given that the Angels bought Hunter, it's more surprising that the didn't go nuts on an Arod deal (something like $35m per for 10 years). I think Moreno may have slow played his hand a little too much and Arod panicked.

[danzig6767]

Contracts like this are scary for Brewers fans. We keep thinking Fielder likely will be gone once he hits free agency because Boras is his agent, but even guys like Hart will be tough to keep. If he keeps progressing, ho much is he going to cost as he hits free agency or even his arby numbers the last year before free agency. Mix in Weeks/Hardy and Braun/Gallardo later on, it will be interesting to see which of these young guys we can end up keeping as they get near or reach free agency.