There was a thinly-veiled rumor out of Boston (?) yesterday about surprisingly-yet-unsigned second baseman, Orlando Hudson.
And that rumor is that the Cubs are one of only three teams looking at him.
Guh? I mean, freaking awesome!
Orlando Hudson, 2B, free agent: It’s amazing that a player of this caliber remains unsigned, but lining up are the Cubs, White Sox, and Dodgers. A few Cubs organizational people really want Hudson, but the impending transfer of ownership from the Chicago Tribune to Tom Ricketts may hinder GM Jim Hendry’s ability to do anything until it’s complete. The Boston Globe.
More after the jump.
Hudson, who was looking at a couple years at $7 or 8 million at the beginning of the offseason, is a top defender at 2nd base, and has topped .800 in the OPS department three years running.
The thing is, he’s only played second base, so the assumption is, if the Cubs did sign Hudson, he would be the second baseman. This would relegate Mike Fontenot to a utility role, and ditto Aaron Miles, if he wasn’t there already.
The Cubs have discussed getting Fontenot more reps at shortstop during spring training, and if he could cover the spot occasionally, signing Hudson could be a great move for the Cubs.
Ironically, assuming Fontenot and Miles could cover the corner outfield spots in a pinch, signing second baseman Orlando Hudson might make outfielder Joey Gathright obsolete.