Not Necessarily

ESPN has this AP story on the Twins picking up Torii Hunter's $12 million option for 2007. I have a bone to pick with the lede:

MINNEAPOLIS -- Torii Hunter will be back with the Minnesota Twins for at least one more year.

That's not necessarily the case. The Twins had two choices regarding Hunter - they could pick up his $12 million option or they could have paid him a $2 million buyout. Let me repeat that - letting Hunter walk away would have cost them $2 million.

Now that they have picked up the option on Hunter - the Twins now have two new options; they can keep him around for 2007 or they can trade him to another team. If they trade him then he won't be around in Minnesota for at least one more year will he?

I bring this up because there have been a number of rumors of Hunter getting traded to the Red Sox for Coco Crisp. The Twins could have crisp for 3-years at a total of $15 million or they could have Hunter for one year at $12 million. My guess is that the Twins won't be signing Hunter to a long term contract but the Red Sox could (if they believe that Crisp is not in their plans). Of course maybe the Red Sox make a pitch for Hunter to be their right fielder in which a different set of players is offered to Minnesota.