Hot off the Twitter press, MLB.com's Bill Ladson just reported that it appears Orlando Hudson will be heading to Minnesota where he'll play second base for the Twins instead of signing with the Washington Nationals as has been rumored for the last several weeks. Mr. Ladson's Tweet:
"I just learned from a baseball source that 2B Orlando Hudson will not play for the #Nats. He most likely will play for the Twins."
In a follow up to the original note, which no doubt disappointed some members of the DC Faithful, MLB.com's Bill Ladson explained that, "the deal is almost done with the Twins," and in yet another Tweet, Mr. Ladson said that the reason it didn't work out between the Nationals and Hudson remained their disagreement over the 32-year-old free agent second baseman's value:
"What happened between the #Nats and 2B Orlando Hudson? They were far apart on money."
It will be interesting to see how close the Twins actually come to the $9 million per Hudson was reportedly looking for, since most media reports had the Nationals unwilling to go above one-year and $3-$4 million. But now the big question for the Nationals becomes what to do about their middle infield situation. Adam Kennedy, whose defensive numbers last year were less than impressive, is not quite the defensive upgrade DC GM Mike Rizzo was supposedly searching for, so do the Nationals just go ahead and take a chance on Ian Desmond's being ready for everyday action in the major leagues in spite of the fact that some faction within the Nationals' front office obviously thinks he's not quite ready?
What should DC GM Mike Rizzo do now?