Eddie Guardado trying to sway Torii Hunter to reunion with Twins

Minnesota Twins bullpen coach Eddie Guardado is spending Thanksgiving weekend in Texas with his friend and former teammate Torii Hunter, and the former All-Star intends to do some recruiting as he feasts on turkey and stuffing.

Guardado, who spent 12 years with the Twins during his playing career, admitted he'll try this weekend to persuade Hunter to reunite with the club that selected him in the first round of the 1993 draft.

"I'm trying," Guardado told Michael Rand of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. "I'm trying. All we can do is try, right?"

The Twins are among several teams reportedly pursuing the 39-year-old outfielder - the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals have also been identified as suitors - but Guardado suggested Hunter would fit nicely in Minnesota due to the club's lack of veteran leadership.

“We have to start with the foundation,” Guardado said after watching the Twins lose 90-plus games in each of the past four years. “We have to get some leadership in that clubhouse - maybe a little bit more vocal. I’m not saying go in there and be a correctional officer, but what I’m saying is we need a couple of vocal guys. … That’s how you get better. 

"It starts in the clubhouse. With a young team, it starts on the inside and works its way out. That’s how we did it.”

Hunter, a five-time All-Star, admitted earlier this week there's "common interest" in working out a deal with the Twins after spending the last seven seasons between the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.