MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Step Up Pursuit Of Torii Hunter

For better or for worse, the Rangers’ pursuit of free agent center fielder Torii Hunter is heating up.

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Monday night’s dinner meeting at the home of club owner Tom Hicks was attended by Hunter and his agent, Larry Reynolds, as well as Hicks, his two sons (Alex and Tom Jr.), general manager Jon Daniels, and manager Ron Washington:

“It was a good night — we talked baseball and continued to get a feel for each other,” Daniels said in an e-mail afterward. “I expect both sides will take some time over the holiday and revisit things afterward. In the meantime, Larry and Torii are going through their process, and we’re continuing to look at all ways to improve the organization.”

Although the meeting appeared to go well, there are no immediate indications that the Rangers have yet offered Hunter the five-year contract proposal that was suggested by Sullivan and the DMN’s Richard Durrett last night.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox are also believed to be very interested in signing Hunter. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times quoted several unnamed sources from within the White Sox organization and Hunter’s camp on Monday, who believe that an agreement between the two parties could be struck by the end of the week:

According to one source, Hunter had met with the Sox twice in the last two weeks, getting the financial details of what was being offered in that second meeting. While an agreement had not been reached as of Monday afternoon, the source said that “the climate’’ was there for a deal to be announced soon, unless another team comes in at the last second and blows Hunter away with an offer.

Of course, Hunter has denied these reports - but could you really expect him not to? One thing does appear to be certain: this thing is going to be milked for everything it’s worth by agent Larry Reynolds, who could very well talk White Sox GM Kenny Williams into giving his client the six guaranteed years he’s seeking. Let’s hope Texas stays away.

Sullivan also has his latest mailbag out, which consists mainly of some more vague reader-proposed trade and free agent acquisitions - such as the aging first base duo of Sean Casey and Tony Clark. There’s also some additional information on Torii Hunter and free agent Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, as well as the current depth chart rankings of young hurlers Eric Hurley, Matt Harrison and Luis Mendoza. Definitely worth checking out.

The Texas Rangers added right-hander Thomas Diamond, left-hander Matt Harrison, outfielder Brandon Boggs and catcher Max Ramirez to the 40-man roster on Monday, while simultaneously designating outfielder Victor Diaz for assignment.

No real surprises there - Boggs was in danger of being passed over due to the addition of Warner Madrigal to the 40-man roster on Sunday, but he ended up making the cut. Diamond, Harrison and Ramirez were all no-brainers. As for Diaz, he may want to start looking at apartments in Japan.

On a related note, Newberg Report contributor Scott Lucas has a nice rundown of the Rule-5 Draft eligible players the organization has left exposed, and believes that right-hander Jesse Ingram, infielder Tug Hulett (or “Tuglett,” as he has affectionately been called in some circles) or first baseman Nate Gold might draw some limited interest - granted, not enough interest to likely be selected.

The Rangers announced their club award winners on Monday, with shortstop Michael Young being named as the team’s 2007 Player of the Year, and right-hander Joaquin Benoit snagging Pitcher of the Year honors. The entire list of award winners, as well as information on how to purchase tickets to the Rangers’ Mid-Winter banquet on January 25th at Eddie Deen’s Ranch in downtown Dallas, can be found here.

Triple-A Oklahoma Redhawks manager Bobby Jones, who is the all-time franchise leader in wins with 492, will return for an eighth season with the club in 2008. Pitching coach Andy Hawkins, hitting coach Randy Whisler and trainer Lee Slagle are also reported to be returning.

And finally, Ken Davidoff of Newsday say that the New York Mets are indeed back in the ring as a potential trade partner for catcher Gerald Laird. However, Davidoff also writes that Mets GM Omar Minaya is focused on conserving his trading chips for a pitching acquisition, and is not particularly interested in making a deal for a catcher - yet.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 at 12:47 am and is filed under The Off-Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.