In a stunning development, Torii Hunter reached a deal with the Anaheim Angels last night (hat tip, Basball Digest Daily).

The Angels pulled off their second stunning -- and somewhat perplexing -- move of the week late Wednesday night, signing free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter to a five-year, $90-million contract, the richest deal in franchise history.

Three teams -- the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals -- extended five-year offers to the former Minnesota Twins star, and the Angels seemed set in center field with Gary Matthews Jr., a superb defender who is entering the second year of a five-year, $50-million contract.

But Tony Reagins, the Angels rookie general manager, began speaking with agent Larry Reynolds "a few days ago," negotiations heated up with microwave-like quickness, and a deal for the seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, which will be finalized pending a physical, came together "within the last 24 hours," Reynolds said.

"They shocked me," Hunter said during a hastily arranged conference call late Wednesday night. "I wanted to be with these guys. I thought maybe they didn't need a center fielder like me. They shocked the world. I love these guys . . . I want to say thank you guys for choosing me. I'm honored.

The Angels say they'll use Matthews in both corner spots as Guerrero and Anderson rotate throught he outfield and DH spot. Both suffered injuries in 2007, so maybe the Angels are trying to save these two from more of the same. The odd men out are Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits. So do Willits and a pitcher go to the Marlins for Cabrera? Or to the Orioles for Tejada?

What I don't like about the deal is the age of the Angels outfield. The seasonal age for the outfielders in 2008:

• Anderson: 36
• Matthews: 33
• Guerrero: 32
• Hunter: 32

Guerrero is in the last year of his contract, with a team option for 2009. I'm guessing they extend Vlad, giving the team a very old outfield as they end the aughties. If they land Cabrera, it's probably worth it. If they land Tejada, they're just another old team trying to win now.

It is nice to see that some team was willing to bid too much for a player. After Rodriguez and Lowell attracted little attention, Hunter ends up the one overpaid. Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand must be very happy this morning.

Update: 6-4-2 Isn't happy with the deal.

Despite his type A ranking by Elias, Hunter's value to the team is rather dubious thanks to his age, multiplied by having a career year in a contract year. PECOTA projected him as a 45 VORP player, and he came in a bit below that at 39.2. Now, four wins is nothing to sneeze at, but he marks the kind of player the Angels really shouldn't be chasing; they need a Hall of Fame caliber bat, and Hunter simply isn't that. As a fix for the outfield, it reaches meh levels, with the usual caveats that Hunter's comps were either out of baseball or ineffective by the time this deal will be over, when Hunter is 36.

Chronicle of the Lads list the deal under WTF.

Aaron Gleeman looks at the bright side for the Twins:

Hunter remaining in the AL isn't ideal, but signing with the Angels beats joining the White Sox or even the Royals. The good news is that because the Angels finished with a winning record in 2007, the Twins will receive the 27th overall pick June's draft as compensation for losing Hunter. Had he signed with the White Sox, Rangers, Dodgers, Nationals, Royals, Astros, Reds, or any other sub-.500 team, the Twins would have received a supplemental first rounder instead.