SKOR North's Declan Goff previously reported that Torii Hunter spoke with the Twins brass about Minnesota's managerial vacancy, and the legendary outfielder is not interested in the position. However, Goff has a new update regarding the situation that will upset fans.
Torii Hunter interested in Twins manager position - but Minnesota isn't interested in Hunter
It turns out Hunter IS interested in the Twins manager job after all.
"Torii [Hunter] does indeed have interest in managing the Twins, but from the other side, it doesn't feel like, and obviously, by the reporting from The Athletic too, that they have much interest in even interviewing the former Twins great," Goff said on Monday's episode of the SKOR North Twins show.
Hunter was also in the mix for the Angels managerial vacancy before Kurt Suzuki was hired for the role. Since Hunter has worked for Los Angeles for the past two seasons, he likely prioritized the Angels manager job, which may have led to the rumor that he is not interested in managing the Twins. But since the Angels' opening was taken, Hunter likely changed his mind regarding the Twins' managerial vacancy. Goff also confirmed his original report that Hunter spoke with the Twins front office and/or owners is 100% true, but the talk was not an official interview of any sort.
Twins fans should be upset front office won't interview Torii Hunter
If the Twins interview Hunter for their managerial opening and decide he isn't the man for the job, so be it. But not offering Hunter an interview at all is ridiculous. Hunter doesn't have the coaching experience of the four reported candidates, but he still has experience working out of a dugout and was known to be a leader during his playing days.
James Rowson, Derek Shelton, Scott Servais and Ryan Flaherty are all qualified to receive an opportunity to manage an MLB team. But do any of those names excite Twins fans? Not really. While winning should always be priority number one, it's hard to imagine any of those four candidates would bring more wins to the Twins as a manager than Hunter would. Twins fans have dealt with a lot of disappointment over the past two seasons, and hiring Hunter to lead the team would reignite fan interest. No offense to Rowson and Shelton, but hiring one of those two would likely not excite fans one bit.