Torii

Hunter

Nightengale adds that Washington’s staff in Los Angeles is also expected to include Chili Davis as hitting coach, Torii Hunter as first base coach, Eric Young Sr. as third base coach and a recently-retired Ryan Goins as infield coach. There could wind up being some changes in the near future, but it’s a pretty impressive list for the Angels.

Hunter will rejoin the Twins Saturday in Anaheim.

“He’s pretty sore. We’ll know more [today],” manager Ron Gardenhire said, sounding less than optimistic that Hunter will make a quick return to the lineup. Potential AL Rookie of the Year Lew Ford will take over in center field. If Hunter goes on the DL, we could get our first look at Jason Kubel.

Good news for the Twins. Hunter remains day-to-day, but should return early this week. Lew Ford will stay in center field during Hunter’s absence.

His knee is hurting him and the Twins’ center fielder needs a rest. Hunter went 0-for-5 in last night’s game and didn’t hit a ball out of the infield.

Gardenhire’s reasoning: with two basestealing threats atop the order in Cristian Guzman and Jacque Jones, Koskie, a left-handed hitter, could make it easier on them to run, since nearly all catchers throw right-handed. Hunter’s value gets a slight bump with improved RBI potential.

We’d rather see Ford bat third until he does something to demonstrate he’s not truly a .380-OBP guy. Hunter has never had an OBP higher than .334 and is at .319 for his career. It’d be great for his fantasy value if he hits third, but not outstanding for the Twins.

This shouldn’t be a major concern going forward.

Nick Punto is a candidate to replace him if necessary today. It sounds like Hunter may be able to play.

Hunter doesn’t want to take any chances. “Early in the season, you don’t want to go out there and really hurt something, and then you aggravate it and it lasts the whole season,” Hunter said. “I want to get it out of the way early.” If the center fielder goes on the DL, Lew Ford will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester.