This week has already brought a few notable turns for former Minnesota Twins figures. Mitch Garver has officially stepped away from the game, Kurt Suzuki will not return as manager of the Los Angeles Angels, and that vacancy has opened another path for a familiar name to surface.
Torii Hunter is back in the mix.
Hunter, who spent five seasons with Los Angeles during his 19-year playing career, is expected to draw serious interest from the Angels again, according to Charley Walters of Don’t Print That. He was a finalist for the job last fall before the Angels ultimately gave Suzuki a one-year deal. Hunter also came up as a potential candidate for the Twins, though Minnesota hired Derek Shelton instead.
The connection to Anaheim is obvious. Hunter has worked in a special assistant role with the Angels, and he’s long been tied to that organization from his playing days there.
But the picture around the franchise is anything but settled. John Mozeliak is now serving as interim general manager after Perry Minasian was fired in June, and Stan Kroenke has agreed to buy the team from Arte Moreno, with the sale expected to become official in early 2027.
Even with all that uncertainty, Hunter fits the profile of a candidate the Angels could circle back to. He was a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner with Los Angeles, and at 51, he would be taking on his first managerial job at any level.
The Angels’ recent track record makes the opening a difficult one. Under Suzuki, they went 62-100 this season, the first 100-loss season in franchise history. They haven’t reached the postseason since 2014 and have been stuck in a run of losing records.
Minnesota’s situation was different, but not exactly inviting either. The Twins finished 77-85 after battling through a roster that lacked much punch overall. The Angels have spent more than Minnesota over time, but haven’t gotten nearly as much out of that spending.
There’s at least one obvious draw for Hunter if the Angels come calling again: Mike Trout remains under contract through 2030. But Trout is no longer the same game-changing force he once was, and Los Angeles still needs help everywhere - at the major league level and across the farm system.
Hunter showed he could handle a leadership role with the 2015 Twins, a team that had just come off four straight 90-loss seasons. Still, a first-time manager walking into this kind of situation would be facing a steep climb. As the last line of this job search suggests, dance parties aren’t the only thing that will get the Angels back on track.
In Other News...
Twins Could Raid AL Central Rivals To Fix Multiple Needs This Winter
With the World Series about to get underway, the Twins are already looking ahead to an offseason that could be more aggressive than usual. Minnesotas front office has reason to believe it can shop a little higher on the market this winter, thanks to Tom Pohlads indication that payroll is slated to rise, and that changes the conversation from simply filling holes to considering where real upgrades might come from.
One angle worth watching is how often those fixes could come from inside the AL Central. The Twins have clear needs to address, and the early read is that the division itself offers a few plausible fits if Minnesota wants to go shopping close to home. Whether it is a starter, bullpen help or another bat, the club has been connected to several names from rival rosters, giving this winter a chance to feel a little more targeted than the usual free-agent scramble. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Fans Just Got A Reminder Of How Much Has Changed
Paul Molitor is set to throw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the World Series at American Family Field in Milwaukee, a neat reminder of an older era for Twins followers who remember his place in the organization well. It also lands at a time when the franchise keeps showing how much has shifted around the edges of the roster and staff, with familiar names from past seasons now popping up in very different contexts.
The churn has continued on the baseball side, where Minnesota has turned to Brian Reith as its new pitching coach after parting ways with Pete Maki. And for another former Twin, the news this week carried a more personal note, as catcher Mitch Garver announced his retirement after a 10-year MLB career, another familiar face from a different chapter now closing the book. [Read more 🡒]
Pablo Lopez Recovery Could Change The Twins Rotation Sooner Than Expected
Pablo Lopezs rehab has become one of the more closely watched storylines around the Twins, not just because of who he is, but because of what his recovery could mean for the rotation. The right-hander underwent an elbow procedure in February and has since been working his way back, resuming catch in August as he continues the long climb toward pitching again.
What makes the situation especially noteworthy is the timeline, which is more encouraging than a full Tommy John recovery and could put Lopez back in the mix sooner than usual. He is aiming to be ready by Spring Training, with a chance to push for the Opening Day roster if everything keeps moving in the right direction, a development that would give Minnesota an important arm back ahead of schedule. [Read more 🡒]