Offseason Preview: ODog Gets His Bone

The following is from the upcoming TwinsCentric Offseason GM Handbook.

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The O-Dog should finally get his bone this offseason. That’s good and bad news for Twins fans.

For two offseasons in a row, Twins second baseman (and impending free agent) Orlando Hudson has been screwed by the free agent process. Two years ago he was a Type A free agent offered arbitration by the Diamondbacks. He turned down arbitration because he was the premier second baseman on the market – and nobody would touch him because signing him would require teams to give up a first round draft pick. He signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers.

Last year he was a Type A free agent again, but this time he made it very clear he would accept arbitration if it was offered. The Dodgers (wisely) listened. That meant that teams didn't need to give up a draft pick to sign him, but Hudson again got stuck. Due in part to some strange decisions down the stretch in LA to bench him, he was positioned towards the bottom of a fantastic group of free agent second baseman. When the music stopped, all of the other second basemen had a seat, and just about the only one left for Hudson had a big “TC” on it.

But this year, it’s a different story. The 32-year-old is again one of the top names available at second base. He can be offered arbitration, but since he’s a Type B free agent this year, that won’t slow down any suitors. Finally, he’s also young enough that teams can risk a multi-year deal.

The Twins won’t (and probably shouldn't) match that. But they can safely offer him arbitration and not worry about him taking it. He won’t be back with the Twins, but his loss will generate a bonus draft pick.

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Right about now, you might be wondering who else is available at second base this offseason. In this year’s TwinsCentric Offseason GM Handbook e-book we detail the others: Mark Ellis (probably), Cristian Guzman, Felipe Lopez, Adam Kennedy, David Eckstein, Akinori Iwamura, Julio Lugo, and Aaron Miles.

It also will include the story above and about 30,000 other words on the Twins offseason strategies. If you would like to check out last year’s version for free, or order this year’s version for $9.95, just click on over to TwinsCentric.com. We’re so confident you will like it – and so appreciate you trying out an e-book – that we’ll completely refund your purchase price if you aren't satisfied.