Nostalgia Aside, Dayan Viciedo Over Torii Hunter?

By Ted Schwerzler | Dec 2, 2014

Although I still see starting pitching as the Minnesota Twins biggest concern, the other big hole for the free agency period to fill still sits in left field. I love Torii Hunter just as much as the next Twins Territorian, but I also know he’s not the answer for the Twins. However, another AL Central foe could be, Dayan Viciedo anyone?

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For Twins fans, Viciedo is a familiar face playing for the Chicago White Sox, and also being a relatively respectable power hitter. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out, there’s plenty worth looking at here.

For teams that miss out on Torii Hunter, Dayan Viciedo could be the consolation prize. Cuban slugger still just 25. Non-tender or trade?
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) December 2, 2014

At just 25 years of age, Viciedo is a much more logical option to help the Twins out in left field. While Torii Hunter brings the nostalgic presence back to the club, he doesn’t really fit into the long term plans of success that the young nucleus is being built towards.

For Viciedo, he is coming off of a season in which he hit a career worst .231 at the plate. However, he is a career .255 hitter and can be counted on for between 15-20 home runs and around 60 runs batted in per season. With the Twins, Dayan Viciedo would rank amongst the top on the team in both of those categories.

As a first-year arbitration eligible player, Viciedo would need to be non-tendered by the White Sox to hit the open market, but he could also be had at a relatively low cost through a trade.

Regardless of the Twins losing out on Hunter, they will address left field at some point. Another name that still seems to make a lot of sense is Peter Bourjos. At any rate, look for the Twins to start making some signings after the big names start to declare their intentions.

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