Getty Images UPDATE: OK, it is official. Basically, anyway: Rosenthal reports that he’s getting two-years and $11.5 million. The deal is done pending a physical. So he does get a raise. And, unlike his last two deals, he gets multiple years. Not the greatest contract in the history of the word, but we’re clearly back to boom-times for free agents this winter, so I suppose that’s the new normal.
12:28 PM: Nothing is official yet, and we should always be wary of preliminary reports. But when the preliminary report comes from the player himself, I imagine that it’s safe to run with that news. Orlando Hudson was just on MLB Network Radio on Sirius/XM and said that a deal with the Padres should be announced later today.
The Padres will be Hudson’s fourth team in four years. Always touted as a great guy in the clubhouse, that may not really be true, as Aaron reported back in October. But the guy can still play. He hit .268/.338/.372 in 126 games overall and played good defense. You figure that he won’t make more — and could very well make less — than the $5 million he made last year, and at those prices that’s a pretty good pickup for anyone. Especially a team as pitching-and-defense reliant as the Padres are.
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- Ari Collins - Dec 17, 2010 at 12:44 PM
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Second basemen are consistently underrated. He’s a 2-3 win player, so this is a very good deal for the Padres. Also nice to see the O-Dog finally get a two-year deal.
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- xpensivewinos - Dec 17, 2010 at 1:15 PM
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It’s going to be a loooooooooooooooong year for them, but Hudson and Bartlett (if they can get that deal done) certainly makes them more competitive. First, third, left and catcher are still huge holes.
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- Rosenthals Speling Instrukter - Dec 17, 2010 at 1:30 PM
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I like the deal, not huge on a second year but I will cheer him at the ballpark.
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- lampdwellr - Dec 17, 2010 at 1:43 PM
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Even if Hudson’s entering a post-32 decline phase, I feel like his particular skills will translate well to PETCO and to aging. He’s not a big base-stealer, has strong line-drive tendencies (perfect in PETCO) and never hit a lot of homers anyway. Second basemen seem to age well, too…and experience and savvy have a big impact on turning double plays. This feels like a major upgrade over Eckstein/Hairston.
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- proudlycanadian - Dec 17, 2010 at 6:01 PM
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I am happy that the former Blue Jay finally landed a free agent contract for longer than 1 year.
