The Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms with outfielder Torii Hunter on a one-year, $10.5 million contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The Rangers were close with Hunter on Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reported. However, Hunter heads back to the Twins, the team that drafted him back in 1993 with the 20th overall pick. It wasn't a homecoming discount either, as Rosenthal noted that Hunter's offer from the Twins was higher than his offer from the Rangers. Hunter was drafted by the Twins back in 1996 and spent 11 seasons in Minnesota, going to two All-Star Games and winning seven Gold Glove awards. He has three more All-Star appearances since his first stint with the Twins, while also capturing two more Gold Gloves. Hunter has played in 18 big league seasons. This past season, with the Tigers, Hunter hit .286/.319/.446 with 17 homers and 83 runs batted in over 586 plate appearances. His OPS was 11 percent better than league average. Hunter provided below average defense, saving -16 runs from scoring this past year. Nonetheless, he can still hit, and could be a nice addition to the Twins' lineup. The 39-year-old Hunter has a career .279/.334/.465 slash line, while averaging 24 homers and 95 runs batted in over every 162 games. The Twins cannot expect Hunter to play that well, but he could still definitely be a good addition to a Twins lineup that already includes the likes of Kurt Suzuki, Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, and Trevor Plouffe. The Arkansas native will try to bring the Twins back into contention. The team hasn't been to the playoffs since 2010 and has finished either fourth or fifth in the AL Central division every year since. They have an interesting farm system, but as they look to begin turning things around, it's really unclear if Hunter will be apart of their success, especially at age 39. Hunter could be a mentor to Byron Buxton and other young Twins outfielders who are making their ways closer to the major leagues. Other than Josh Willingham (who retired), the Twins outfield consisted of 23-year-old Danny Santana, 23-year-old Oswaldo Arcia, and 24-year-old Aaron Hicks. Hunter, being a big baseball veteran, will definitely help these guys help grow as a hitter and a professional. --Devan Fink
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The Detroit Tigers have agreed to re-sign designated hitter Victor Martinez, reports said Wednesday. Martinez will be given a four-year, $68 million deal, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports. Martinez's $17 million annual average value is the largest ever for a designated hitter. He will be kept under contract through 2018, his age-39 season. The deal is pending a physical. Many believed that the Tigers would be unable to retain the main cog in their lineup in Martinez, considering his phenomenal 2014 campaign and Detroit's large payroll. But the Tigers want to win and win now. Keeping Martinez, they obviously feel, will help them win in 2015 and hopefully beyond. The 35-year-old Martinez was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1996 out of Venezuela. He became their No. 1 catcher during the early part of his career. From 2004 to 2007, Martinez posted an .860 OPS with the Indians. His great offense and on-base skills have always been with him throughout his career. Martinez was flipped to the Red Sox in the deal that sent Justin Masterson to Cleveland. He spent about a year and a half with Boston, before being granted free agency, where he signed with the Tigers on a four-year, $50 million pact, which has really paid off for Detroit. This past season, Martinez hit .335/.409/.565 with 32 home runs and 103 runs batted in over 641 plate appearances. Martinez was named to his fifth career All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger award. The Tigers will be putting a lot of payroll into three players. They now have $470 million committed to Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and Martinez though the 2023 season, leading many to believe that they will be taking the same road the Philadelphia Phillies have taken with signing old veterans. The Tigers want to win now and they definitely have proved that. But, thinking about the future is not the worst thing to do either. Martinez will get to stay with Detroit and perhaps with another championship on a new lucrative deal. The question is whether or not this signing hurts the Tigers majorly down the road. --Devan F. What a game. The Kansas City Royals will get to move on into the postseason and advance to the American League Division Series after defeating the Oakland Athletics 9-8 in 12 innings on Tuesday night. Now, they take on the AL's best Los Angeles Angels and they continue to fight in their first postseason birth since 1985. Here is my American League Division Series preview.
The Detroit Tigers over the Baltimore Orioles Max Scherzer. Justin Verlander. Rick Porcello. David Price. The amount of aces the Tigers have with postseason experience is astounding. Their pitching staff has been solid all season long, but has come to the right place, the postseason, where pitching staffs thrive. While Verlander may be a question mark, I always feel that he comes up big in big games, regardless of how tough of a season he had. On the offensive, the Tigers boast Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera, a one-two punch that is ridiculously hot right now. The Orioles aren't that lucky when it comes to a fantastic pitching staff. They have Chris Tillman going in game one, a guy who had a good year. However, I'd rather have any Tigers starter over him. We don't know who will start the rest of the series yet, but Ubaldo Jimenez, Kevin Gausman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, or Miguel Gonzalez are their other starters. They do have a high flying offense, with the likes of Nelson Cruz (40 HR), but the Tigers staff could easily shut them down. Their offense appears to be their only hope right now. The Los Angeles Angels over the Kansas City Royals The Los Angeles Angels finished with the American League's best record, so they should get at least to the American League Championship Series. I'm very excited about seeing Mike Trout in the postseason, while Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton return to the big stage. The Angels attack is one of the most balanced, as a rotation with Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Matt Shoemaker, and Hector Santiago isn't too shabby either. Imagine if Garrett Richards wasn't hurt. As for the Royals, it looks like they will be falling into a whole in game one with Jason Vargas on the hill against Weaver. They won't get James Shields back to pitch until game two or three, so that is a real liability, especially if he cannot start a game five. The Royals showed an exceptional amount of resilience in the Wild Card game, so that may be able to push them past the Angels. But other than that, things look bleak for the team from Kansas City. --Devan F. The Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals have clinched the American and National League Central divisions on the final day of the 2014 season. The Tigers wrapped up their division behind a fantastic start from David Price. Price, who was acquired from the Rays in a three-team trade on July 31, hasn't been great in a Tigers uniform, coming into today's game 3-4 with a 3.97 ERA in 10 starts. However, his gem today -- 7 1/3 innings, no hits, no runs, eight strikeouts, and two walks -- proved his worth as the Tigers wrapped up a 3-0 victory over the Twins. I predicted the Tigers to win the American League prior to the season, and now that they don't have to play in the one-game AL Wild Card round, their pitching staff could talk them all the way to the World Series. Their starting rotation includes Max Scherzer (18-5, 3.15 ERA), Justin Verlander (15-12, 4.54), Rick Porcello (15-13, 3.43), Anibal Sanchez (8-5, 3.43), and now Price. As for the Cardinals, they wrapped up their division with a little help. The Pittsburgh Pirates were bested by the Cincinnati Reds 4-1. This is their 11th playoff appearance since 2000 and their eighth division title in that stretch. The Cardinals have reached the NLCS or beyond each of the lat three years. Prior to this season, I thought they would reach a fourth, but fall to the Washington Nationals in the series. Pitching is a common theme for postseason teams and the Cardinals are right there atop the best staffs in baseball. Behind Adam Wainwright (20-9, 2.38), Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.20), Lance Lynn (15-10, 2.74), Shelby Miller (10-9, 3.74), Justin Masterson (6-9, 5.97), and John Lackey (14-10, 3.82) the Cardinals have an arsenal of quality starting pitchers that isn't matched by any other team. And behind a lineup featuring Yadier Molina, the Cardinals could make a lot of noise in October. Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals on clinching the American and National League Central divisions. --Devan F. The Detroit Tigers have agreed to sign right-handed relief pitcher Jim Johnson to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on Tuesday. Johnson was recently released by the Oakland Athletics, following a tough stint that saw him go from closer to a pitcher that made only six appearances in the month of July. The A's had signed Johnson before the season to a one-year, $10 million deal for his third and final arbitration season. He had accumulated his first five seasons of service time with the Baltimore Orioles, who dealt Johnson to Oakland in December. The Orioles were interested in re-signing Johnson following his release, according to various Baltimore Orioles, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, who did a particularly good job covering the Johnson story. It was Kubatko who reported yesterday that Johnson had signed, but to a team that was not the Baltimore Orioles. For two straight seasons with Baltimore, Johnson was arguably the best closer in the American League. He recorded the AL lead in saves in both 2012 and 2013, saving 51 and 50 in those seasons, respectively. During that stretch, Johnson pitched in 145 games, totaling 139 innings pitched, as he posted a 2.72 ERA and a 3.35 FIP. His 97 to 33 strikeout-to-walk rate from 2012 to 2013 was really good. It was as if Johnson was a completely different pitcher this year. In 40 1/3 innings pitched over a 38 game span, Johnson pitched to an ugly 7.14 ERA to go along with a 5.30 FIP. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was terrible; he recorded only 28 punch-outs to 23 base on balls. Johnson's 53 ERA+ is the worst mark of his career (min. 10 innings pitched). He recorded only two saves in three opportunities in Oakland. The Tigers may have a spot for the right-hander, as they have been really weak out of the bullpen this season. Detroit's relief corps have posted the third-highest ERA in the majors to go along with the sixth-highest FIP. The team acquired Joakim Soria from the Texas Rangers in July to help cater this need, but stocking up on relief pitching is never a bad idea. Taking a chance on Jim Johnson fits right in that category. It would not surprise me if Johnson does come and pitch with Detroit this season. |
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