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Texas Rangers rumors: Torii Hunter is looking at the Texas Rangers, among other teams, according to a tweet from Mark Whicker after the Notre Dame/USC game. Hunter's son plays for the Fighting Irish, and was, per Whicker, waiting for his son outside the locker room after the game.
Whicker is perhaps best known for writing a really awful column about Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped and missing for 18 years, in 2009.
Whicker says that Hunter is also looking at the Orioles and M's, as well as "maybe" Minnesota.
Hunter is a free agent, with his two year deal with the Tigers having expired at the end of the 2014 season. The Tigers have made it clear they do not intend to bring Hunter back.
The Rangers have interest in a veteran hitter who can DH and play some COF, and pursued Hunter the previous two times he hit the free agent market. While he's a defensive liability in the outfield, Hunter is someone who could provide the Rangers with a DH who could handle some spot duty in right or left field, and he has a reputation for being a great clubhouse leader.
The Rangers' priority this offseason is starting pitching, but they are also looking for a DH/COF type to plug into the lineup, and so I suspect that the team has interest in Hunter, if they could land him on a relatively inexpensive one year deal.
