Hunter returning to Twins

Torii Hunter will be back with the Minnesota Twins for at least one more year. Beyond that, it's tough to tell.

The Twins picked up their 2007 option on Hunter's contract yesterday, and his $12 million salary will be the largest sum for one season in team history. The five-time Gold Glove award winner wants to stay with Minnesota longer than that, but if his deal isn't extended by the spring, he sounded resigned to leaving as a free agent next year.

``If nothing gets done, then I'm going to enjoy my last season with the Twins and we're going to do it all. Win the World Series, the whole bit," Hunter said from his home near Dallas.

Hunter had said he would have preferred to have Minnesota buy out the final year of his contract for $2 million and negotiate a new deal, but his current contract called for the team to make a decision five days after the season -- which was too soon to work something out.

Now, general manager Terry Ryan and Hunter's agent, Larry Reynolds, have more time to talk.

``We're happy to have him, and he's happy to be here," Ryan said.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was named the Sporting News Player of the Year, nearly quadrupling the number of votes received by runner-up David Ortiz of the Red Sox. Howard garnered 294 of the 516 votes cast by his peers; Ortiz received 75, while the Cardinals' Albert Pujols finished third with 32 votes. Other award winners were: Jim Leyland of the Tigers and the currently unemployed Joe Girardi, fired by the Marlins last week, as the top managers; the Twins' Johan Santana and the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter as the top pitchers; Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels and Trevor Hoffman of the Padres as the firemen of the year; Tigers starter Justin Verlander and Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla as rookies of the year; and White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome and Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra as comeback players of the year . . . The Yankees announced that lefthander Randy Johnson is likely to have surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back, which would put him slightly behind schedule for spring training. First baseman Jason Giambi probably will have surgery on a torn ligament in his left wrist.