Hunter signs with the Angels

Aw crap.  Looks like Vladimir Guerrero will have some protection in the Angels’ line-up after all.

Of all the divisions for Torii Hunter- the top free-agent hitter available- to land in, he ended up in the American League West, signing a  five-year, $90 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.  I wonder if the Angels had been negotiating seriously with Hutner for some time, and with a deal seemingly imminent, allowed the opportunity for the Orlando-Cabrera-Jon Garland trade.

Hutner signing with the Angels was an unexpected development.  To begin with, they all ready had a freshly signed free-agent centerfielder in Gary Matthews Jr., who had just completed the first season of a five-year, $50 million contract.  Now it appears Matthews will serve time as a DH and also spell Garret Anderson and Guerrero in left and right fields.  (However, I wouldn’t be surprised if  Guerrero ends up seeing the most at-bats at DH as the Angels try to coax as many healthy at-bats from Vlad as they possibly can.)

Also, the Angels didn’t make an appearance on the short list of teams likely to sign Hunter, which initially had Hunter headed to the AL West by way of the Texas Rangers as they were the closest to Hunter’s Texas home; the Atlanta Braves, due to their large African-American population; and the Washington Nationals, where Hunter would be the cornerstone of the franchise, playing in front of another large African-American market.

Hunter exchanged the possibility of playing in front of large African-American crowds for a crowd comprised of a mix of Latino-Americans and Hollywood bigshots.  I guess $90 million is quite a convincing argumentfor Hunter to re-think his preferences about where to play.