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Twins sign Torii Hunter: What they're saying

Let's jump around this interweb and see how everyone else has been reacting to the Twins signing Hunter.

By Jesse Lund
Brian Bahr/Getty Images

First we'll get to what the beat writers and opinion-havers are putting down online, and then we'll get to your Twitter reactions.

Phil Mackey - "Logic says Hunter might not help the Twins much on the field at his advanced age. Emotion says to hell with it."

Judd Zulgad - The Twins gave Hunter an opportunity that nobody else could: a chance to cap off a legacy. Judd also speculates, very briefly at the end of the article, that this could be the start of a new chapter in Hunter's baseball career - one that doesn't end when he's done playing.

Derek Wetmore - Wetmore's five thoughts include comparisons to previous "clubhouse leader" ex-Twins, as well as the signing's impact on other players on the roster.

Howard Sinker - The money isn't an issue - it's about whether or not the Twins can sell a reunion tour. Also a great point about how this move can help Hunter take his pick for playoff contenders.

Jacob Shafer, Bleacher Report - Jacob calls this an "ideal fit," talking about how Paul Molitor wants a strong-willed group of players. He also says that, while Hunter himself may not help the Twins win games in 2014, his tutelage may help the team win games in the future by helping to bring the young talent along.

Mike Axisa, CBS Sports - Mike compares it to Ken Griffey Jr. returning to the Mariners. I mean, we know how that worked out (it didn't), but Axisa says this move is "pretty darn cool." He congratulates Torii for going out on his own terms, and is the perfect role model for a young club. For the normally metric-focused Axisa, his breakdown is a little surprising.

Jeff Todd & Steve Adams, MLB Trade Rumors - Hunter's acquisition "goes beyond on-field production," but qualify that statement by saying that he'll need to be closer to average as a defender if the Twins are to get any on-field value out of the deal.

Aaron Gleeman - "Make no mistake, the Twins are paying for nostalgia here. Even if Hunter exactly duplicates his 2014 performance--which is always unlikely at age 39--he'd be average offensively for a corner outfielder and well below average defensively. Any further decline on either side of the ball would make him a liability and as with most 39-year olds there isn't a whole lot of upside to balance out the potential major dropoff."

Nick Nelson, Twins Daily - Signing Torii Hunter is hard to figure.

Parker Hageman, Twins Daily - Parker examines the data, particularly on the defensive side, and notes that the "data, however, doesn't lie. It just is. And what the data says is that Hunter is not able to catch everything an average right fielder is able to. This notion could leave the pitching staff frustrated in 2015."

Aaron Hicks is clearly excited to see Hunter returning to his roots. Let's hope that something positive can rub off between Hicks and Hunter.

All that stuff is great, and I'm assuming that Bert draws a strong distinction between "playing hurt" and being injured. Because otherwise, lauding a player for playing hurt is counterproductive and downright stupid.

Your reaction

Here are your reactions from the Twinkie Town Twitter and Facebook feeds.

There has been a great deal of discussion about Torii Hunter on the Twinkie Town Facebook page. Here's just a little taste.

Hunter Facebook posts

That's what everyone else seems to be feeling, and emotions are all over the board. Having been able to sleep on it for two nights, how are you feeling? My own thoughts on the topic will be coming up later today.

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