Washington Nationals: Weekend Rumors - Doug Davis Interested In DC?

• Once the Aroldis Chapman chase ended following his decision to sign with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, (with the Nationals according to SI.com's Jon Heyman's Tweet, '...in on Chapman til the end,'"), talk turned early Monday morning to the situation up the middle of the infield in the nation's capital, at least according to free agent pitcher Doug Davis, who's quoted in MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article entitled, "Davis has interest in Nationals", stating that he'd like to pitch for the Nationals, and hopes that, "Possibly, when they find a second baseman, they can come back around to their starting pitching," and, presumably, consider the 34-year-old left-handed veteran of 11 MLB seasons, who tells Mr. Ladson that he believes he can help mentor young pitchers and pass on what he's learned:

"'I can help the young guys in a special way -- how to scout the teams and show how to pitch to these guys and be successful against them,' Davis said. 'You also want to lead by what you do on the field, not just being successful on the field, but the way you go about your business -- make sure you start every fifth day. Your team depends on you every fifth day.'"

• Davis was (9-14) with a 4.12 ERA (4.84 FIP, 111 ERA+) in 34 starts and 203.1 IP in '09 for the Arizona Diamondbacks in which the Texas Rangers' 1996 10th Round pick out of Sacramento, California walked 103, (4.6 BB/9), struck out 146, (6.5 K/9), and allowed 25 HR's (1.1 HR/9) while posting a 1.51 WHIP...Davis is coming off a 3-year deal with the D-Backs which paid him $8.75M last season. 

• As for the Nationals' middle infield, Mr. Ladson writes that Washington, "...still has interest in second baseman Orlando Hudson," but as of now it appears, according to Mr. Ladson's "baseball source", that, "Hudson is asking for too much money." Hudson signed a 1-year/$3.38M dollar deal with Los Angeles for 2009 that ended up earning the 32-year-old infielder, "...a total of  $7.9 million, including incentive bonuses," according to FOXSport.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi's Latest MLB Buzz update subtitled, "Rockies shouldn't have to overpay for help". Would Hudson accept another 1-year/$3.5-$4M dollar deal, or is he inevitably looking for a multi-year deal?