Washington Nationals: Orlando Hudson Wants Too Much?

Why hasn't Orlando Hudson signed with the Washington Nationals yet? The San Francisco Giants signed 30-year-old infielder Juan Uribe, who split his time fairly evenly between second, short and third in '09, hitting .289 with a .329 OBP, .495 SLG, 26 doubles, 4 triples, 16 HR's and 55 RBI's, to a one-year $3.25 million dollar deal on January 5th. The Cincinnati Reds inked Orlando Cabrera, who turned 35 in November, to a 1-year/$3.02M dollar contract, after Cabrera posted a .289 AVG with a .313 OBP, .430 SLG, 36 doubles, 3 triples, 9 HR's and 77 RBI's in 160 games split between the A's and Twins. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson's "baseball source" as quoted in an article entitled, "Money holding up Hudson to Nationals", Orlando Hudson is, "shopping for a more lucrative deal," than the the one Washington is offering, with Mr. Ladson citing recent published reports that claim the Nationals are offering a one-year deal worth $3 million dollars with incentives that could add another million to the 32-year-old second baseman's salary...

Hudson hit .283 last year. OBP? .357, .417 SLG, 35 doubles, 6 triples, 9 HR's and 62 RBI's...(ed. note - "Don't forget to mention that he lost his job to Ronnie Belliard, a Nationals' castoff late in the season with LA.")...but Hudson was benched by LA skipper Joe Torre late in the '09 campaign as the Dodgers charged into the postseason, losing his starting job at second to Ronnie Belliard after the veteran infielder was acquired from the lowly Nationals in a late August trade. Defensively? Hudson made 8 errors in 145 games, turned 68 double plays, put up a .988 Fld% and a (-3.3) UZR. Orlando Cabrera made 25 errors, turned 89 DP's and posted a .965 Fld% with a (-15.3) UZR in 158 games. Juan Uribe turned 20 double plays and made 4 errors while posting a .975 Fld% and a (-1.2) UZR...

Hudson had signed with Los Angeles the previous winter, agreeing to a one-year $3 million dollar deal, with a $380,000 signing bonus which was deferred without interest according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, and incentives that earned Hudson another $4.62 million for a total '09 salary of $8M dollars...so the fact that he thinks he deserves a raise to $9 million isn't really ridiculous except for the fact that the market's changed. Then again, all Hudson has to do is point to Washington's infield, where the Nationals are paying Cristian Guzman, (who hit .284 with a .306 OBP, .390 SLG, 24 doubles, 7 triples, 6 HR's and 52 RBI's in 135 games at short in which he made 20 errors, turned 74 double plays and put up a .962 Fld% with a (-2.3) UZR), $8 million to play either second or short in DC this season, so Hudson might have a point...

BOWDEN!!!!

Back in MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article, the Nationals beat writer notes that if Washington can't sign Orlando Hudson, the Nats will, "...turn their attention to Adam Kennedy," who told Mr. Ladson in a phone call that the Nationals, "... basically let us know that they are kind of waiting on Orlando (Hudson)," Kennedy said. "They didn't put a timetable on it."