The Minnesota Twins will have a new second baseman when they open up Target Field in April. Orlando Hudson has agreed to bring his game to the Twin Cities. As I predicted on Wednesday, Hudson will earn $5 million on a one-year deal.
Having played in Toronto, Arizona and Los Angeles, the Twins will be Hudson’s fourth big league stop. In 2009 he was selected to his second All Star team. It was his only season with the Dodgers, posting .282/.348/.431 while scoring 74 runs. On April 13th against the Giants, Hudson hit for the cycle, becoming the first Dodger to do so since Wes Parker in 1970.
VJ Says: O-Dog is a gritty spark-plug. The type of guy fans want to root for. Minnesota will have fun watching Hudson bring a certain kind of energy to the Twins roster. A terrific candidate to set the table for Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
Note to Ron Gardenhire: Give Orlando some rest throughout the season. Hudson swooned down the stretch last year with the Dodgers. Joe Torre went with Ronnie Belliard at second base during the playoffs, in favor of Hudson. His career average during September is .252, by far his worst of any month. Regardless, thumbs up to Minnesota for adding a quality character, bat and defender to their middle infield.
Speaking of second basemen, Adam Kennedy is headed to The District. He’ll earn $1.25MM in 2010 with the Nationals. Circle April 5th on your calendar: Opening Day 2010, Washington hosts the defending NL champion Phillies. This matchup has the potential to reignite the Cuban Missile Crisis in our nation’s capitol. Imagine this scenario: Kennedy at bat in the bottom of the ninth, tie game, Cuban defector Jose Contreras on the mound. For the sake of Nats’ fans (the franchise is 1-5 on Opening Day) let’s hope it’s Kennedy launching missiles this time around.
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